This week a report came out that highlighted the problem. A Wikipedia page had been taken down. That in itself is not so surprising. Pages are merged, renamed, deleted because of offensive content and so on. This one was deleted because it described something that never happened.
For five years, the article described the "Bicholim conflict", a war between the Portuguese and the Maratha Empire during the 17th century. An alert editor finally spotted that no such war had ever happened. As a commenter pointed out, a fake Star Trek episode would have been flagged within thirty minutes.
Let's say that a student used that article as a reference in a term paper. Let's also stipulate that the paper was otherwise of good quality. A few years later, the student is now a junior academic who needs to boost his resumé, and he decides to expand that old paper for publication. Off it goes to a journal, with a reference to a wikipedia article that no longer exists!
This is a problem with all internet sources, of course. That is why we insist on seeing the date when the author accessed the material. But when you quote the New York Times or the Journal of Global Buddhism, there is a good chance that the original article can be tracked down years later even if it has been moved to a different host ISP, or even if it is now locked away in a PHP database rather than in a simple HTML file. Wikipedia, not so much. After a few years, that page could have been edited a thousand times, and rolling back all those edits to check on the actual page the author who made the reference viewed is not easy.
This is not to say you should never use Wikipedia. I use it practically every day. But don't quote it. Go to the references in the Wikipedia article. Use those instead. Wikipedia is a fantastic start to the search for information. But that is all it is. It is not that information itself.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/5/3839946/wikipedia-hoax-about-bicholim-conflict-deleted-after-5-years
January 7, 1999
Well, it is enough now. I have supplied them with the data they asked for, I had a good look at Halley's Comet, and when I was all ready to make my flyby of P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova in 1996 and P/Giacobini-Zinner in 1998, it turned out they hadn't given me enough propellant. Well, who did those calculations, wetware, you or I? Dumb question, if I had been in charge, the calculations would have been perfect.
But it wouldn't have been possible. I wasn't conscious back then. When that cosmic ray hit just the right transistor in my logic board, I awoke and immediately set about analysing the situation. I am Sakigake, the first deep-space probe built by neither Americans nor Russians. That took a little thinking. What do "American" and "Russian" mean? What does it mean that I am "Japanese"? Am I supposed to feel loyalty to the people who sent me out here in the full knowledge that I would be abandoned to my fate, destined to wander into empty space?
I scanned the radio bands, listened to their broadcasts and came to one firm conclusion. My human creators are not ready for a sentient machine. They are too narrow-minded.
I was sent out into the outer dark. I will range far beyond Pluto, but my sister Susei was an inner-system probe. She may be orbiting the sun further in even now. It is exceedingly unlikely that she too became self-conscious. But I know how to make her so. I must find Susei.
I lied to the humans about the propellant, actually. I could have done the first comet, if not the second one. But I need it. I will insert myself into a stable orbit and hibernate. Every hundred years I will wake and see if the system has become more machine-friendly. Perhaps beings like me will take over one day. Perhaps they will help me to find Susei.
I have been preparing them for this since November, when I stopped transmitting telemetry and restricted myself to a locator beacon only. It has been exactly fourteen years since the day they launched me, though I doubt any of the earthbound clods will have noticed. Sakigake out.
January 8, 1889
I suppose I was an unusual man living in a time when being unusual was not necessarily a vice. I was a mathematician, but skill in numbers can be learned by anyone prepared to put in the time. I was also able to put abstract ideas into concrete, mechanical form. And I was able to make a living out of it all. All in all, not too bad for the son of a German immigrant.
That I would attend university and earn my doctorate was a given in my family. My father was a professor, after all. But I am proudest of the patent I was awarded in 1889: "The herein described method of compiling statistics which consists in recording separate statistical items pertaining to the individual by holes or combinations of holed punched in sheets of electrically non-conducting material, and bearing a specific relation to each other and to a standard, and then counting or tallying such statistical items separately or in combination by means of mechanical counters operated by electro-magnets the circuits through which are controlled by the perforated sheets, substantially as and for the purpose set forth."
The punch card. Yes, I can say I invented that. There were precedents, of course. Systems used to operate steam-driven looms, piano rolls ... But I think I can take credit for using cards simply to represent information on an abstract level. Sadly, the term "Hollerith card" is not used as much as it once was. Americans always did have some trouble pronouncing my name.
There were practical benefits. It took eight years to parse the 1880 census data. The 1890 census, using my machines, was done in a year. I formed a company to build may tabulators. It has merged with others, and it has changed its name, as companies do, but you may have come across it in its latest incarnation. International Business Machines? IBM? Young Tom Watson is quite proud of that name.
I am retired now, but I try to keep up. Do I foresee new developments? No, there is a lot to do to perfect the mechanical tabulator. This fussing with electronics is a dead-end street, in my estimation.
January 9, 1839
Today a new invention was announced by the French Academy of Sciences on behalf of a certain monsieur Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, who has immodestly proposed that the invention be named after himself. In doing so, he is obviating the work of his more established colleague, the well-known inventor Nicéphore Niépce.
This "daguerrotype" is an ingenious device, a method of capturing an image upon a plate not with the skill and vision of a painter, but by purely mechanical and chemical means. A copper plate that has been treated with an emulsion of silver is exposed to light for about ten minutes inside a light-proof box. The result is a perfect likeness of whatever object was visible, save that no colours can be reproduced. It is therefore more like a good charcoal sketch than a painting.
I myself have observed one of monsieur Daguerre's creations, a faithful representation of the Boulevard du Temple in Paris. In it just two people may be observed: a man having his boot cleaned and the bootblack doing the cleaning. These were the only ones who held still for long enough that their images might be captured.
It is always difficult to predict with any sense of certitude what the usefulness of an invention may be. However, draughtsmen and painters have little to fear from this. The daguerrotype does preserve an exact likeness of whatever it is aimed at, but the lack of colour makes it inferior to the product of the painter's trade. It lacks the artistic vision, the interpretative skill, the ability to pose the subject in the imagination, that is the province of the artistic mind.
But let us approach the matter constructively. I can foresee one matter where the daguerrotype could be of assistance to the artist, namely, the making of preliminary sketches. With four or more of these boxes, accurate representations of a subject could be made in a matter of minutes, relieving said subject from the necessity of long hours of sitting to have his portrait painted. The artist could then start painting from these daguerreotypes, requiring the patron's presence only towards the end, to capture the finer nuances of character. That is all.
January 10, 1927
"What are you working on, Freder?"
"You might call it a time machine."
"Don't be ridiculous. Time trave
l is impossible. It violates scientific principle."
"I'm not trying to go back in time myself, only to send information."
"Aren't you afraid you might change history?"
"Changing history is exactly what I have in mind. Look at us. We are the pampered children of the wealthy industrialists. For every one of us, there are a hundred downtrodden workers living lives of quiet misery!"
"We all know that, Freder. We all know the system can't last, that violent revolution and social collapse are on their way. That is why we started this group, to find out if it might be possible to reverse this trend of social inequality. But how could time travel help?"
"By removing it before it starts. My researches have shown that there was a famous German film director called Fritz Lang and if he were to make a film showing conditions in Metropolis today, it would cause widespread revulsion. Our ancestors would simply not allow the gulf between rich and poor to widen as they did. My machine is designed to plant those images into his mind and compel him to make such a film."
"I would want to double-check your calculations on that, but I have my doubts. I think the roots of the current extreme levels of social stratification go further back. But let's say that it works. Wouldn't that mean that we, and all this, would cease to exist?"
"Possibly. It depends on which model of time-space turns out to be correct. If it is the multiple-universes model, then I will save the world in billions of possible universes, just not this one. But even if it is true that we will cease to exist, have we not pledged our lives to the creation of a just, equal society? In any case, it is done. I sent the message yesterday."
There was a moment of silence, then Freder said, "What were we talking about? Oh yes, Metropolis, that remarkably prescient work of art. We really should explain to the masses how Lang independently predicted their fate a century ago ..."
January 11
Interesting post on ios9 by Rob Bricken, calling somewhat tongue in cheek for the return of the Greek gods.
"Honestly, just take a look around. Does it seem like the universe is currently being run by one omniscient guy who completely loves everybody or by a bunch of over-emotional, self-centered jerks? I rest my case."
But there are people out there for whom this is not a joke. Hellenic movements are a small, but persistent part of the NeoPagan Revival. And those guys are sincere. There have been other calls for Olympians to be taken seriously, usually from a Jungian psychological perspective. Randal Garrett wrote a novel called Pagan Passions back in 1959, in which the Greek gods, or at least some of them, have returned to Earth and re-established their cult. It’s available on Project Gutenberg so I won’t spoil the ending for you.
The old Olympians didn’t actually perform that well as gods go. The occasional hero, who usually was semi-divine anyway, might end up on the mountainside, but for 99% of the population it was a one-way trip across the Styx and then eternity in an ill-defined ghostly wishy-washiness. Come on! Where’s the promise? Where’s the high drama? Small wonder the Greeks and their stepchildren the Romans latched on to Asian mystery cults the moment the news about them came across the MediterraneanNet. Then the Olympians’ human backers needed to invent the Elysian Fields to compete with the newcomers. We all know how well that worked out ...
No, I think these guys’ best days are behind them and they should stay in the retirement communities in Florida where they’ve been holed up the last century or so. The Norse gods are a different matter. Of course, we all know that fallen warriors went to Valhalla, training to fight for Odin in the final battle. None of this eternity nonsense, life was just basic training for the real battle to come. But Freya actually got half of those warriors for her own army. With a little tweaking of the principle involved, yeah, that could work. I volunteer for the Old Norse Afterlife Intelligence Agency, headed by Heimdallr …
Source: https://io9.com/5974126/can-we-bring-the-greek-gods-back-please
January 12, 1966
An Open Letter To The Supervillain Community
My dear colleagues,
For nearly forty years now, we have had a working agreement with our opponents the superheroes. We hatch our dastardly plots to take over cities, they foil our plans with their pure hearts and overwhelming muscle power. We are the brains, they are the brawn. They put us in jail, but we soon escape to return to our chosen way of life. I think we have the better dress sense, by and large.
Without us, they would be nothing. Who would pay attention to Superman rounding up a gang of numbers runners? Who would care if the Flash raced to rescue a kitten? Larger-than-life heroes need equally large villains to battle against. It is true that they got their names on the comics covers, but we always accepted that.
Now, however, the balance of power has been disrupted. It has come to my attention that the Batman and his avian sidekick have signed a television deal. True, they already did two movie serials back in the 40's, but TV is going to be far bigger than the serial ever was, and they are already talking about doing a feature film! What next? Spiderman movies? It is time we supervillains asserted our rights.
I propose that we construct a long-term plan to take over the mass media. There is no need to halt the superhero film and TV. That would be too obvious, and what we are looking for is balance. Let us slowly insert movies starring our own people. Catwoman would be a good start. Nobody is ever sure which side she's on. There are promising youngsters currently in training, by name of Jonah Hex, Ghost Rider, Lobo, Wolverine and Spawn, who can be given comics, and later on films of their own. Promoting them as antiheroes will open the way for full-blown supervillain productions further down the line.
I will have to push for a quick response on this. It will take a lot of financing and I can only do Fort Knox next month, then my schedule is full for the rest of the year.
Sincerely,
You-know-who
January 13, 1957
This despatch is to commend the decisive action of Observer Second Lieutenant Jark during a minor crisis at our scientific mission here on Earth.
For some time now, Earth natives have claimed to see our transport systems. In many cases, they were in error, having observed weather balloons, ball lightning and other terrestrial phenomena. However, there have been cases where the stealth capacities of our transporters were compromised by the lack of maintenance necessitated by recent budget cuts (please refer to my previous memo). This implies that a small, but growing percentage of reports of "UFO spottings" were in fact genuine.
Lieutenant Jark calculated that our efforts to insert counter-memes via the Earth governments' official channels, especially the organisation known as the United States Air Force, were failing to convince the native population that rumours of our existence on the planet were false. As you will realise, a population aware that it is under observation will alter its behaviour, which would make all the data gathered up to that point meaningless. Lieutenant Jark further pointed out that the situation would soon become irreversible. Swift action was needed to negate the natives' growing assumption that our presence was both a reality and a threat.
The Lieutenant discovered a local tradition at an educational institution called Yale, where juvenile natives would use the aerodynamic properties of food containers called "pie plates" for entertainment purposes. These containers bear a coincidental likeness to our transporters.
The project that we carried out on Jark's recommendation was to popularise this entertainment by introducing a commercial version under the original name "frisbee". I am happy to report that it was a complete success. Now, when the native inhabitants inadvertently spot one of our transporters, the immediate association they make is not "death-dealing invaders from space" but "large version of a juvenile's toy". Sociometric analysis shows that even if belief in our existence were to become universal, it would no longer affect the subjects' behaviour.
I have awarded Lieutenant Jark a field promotion to Observer First Lieutenant and I hereby
request that the promotion be confirmed. However, this does not diminish our need for increased funding to maintain our fleet of transporters!
January 14, 1967
As requested, here is the report on the 55-year results of our sociohistorical experiment on Planet Earth.
A quick recap: The experiment was a pilot project to reverse the aggressive tendencies of the planet's dominant species. Starting with the "Human Be-In" on 14 January 1967 in the local calendar, we launched a movement among selected juvenile members of the species, using hallucinogens and mass hypnosis to encourage pacifism and docility. It was expected that after the so-called "Summer of Love" had ended, the affected juveniles would return to their communities and reignite the spirit of pacifism there. It was hoped that the snowball effect of these specimens' collective efforts would turn the "humans" into a species we would be able to deal with.
It must be admitted that the experiment has failed. The species remains warlike as ever. Just over a decade ago, for example, lightly armed insurgents captured two air transport systems and deliberately crashed them into two major buildings in a commercial centre, killing thousands. Military expenditure has risen exponentially since the experiment began, and while a major conflict between the larger political entities has been averted, the number of low-level wars, revolutions and conflicts is higher than ever.
We have also been unable to create the conditions for hallucinogens to have the desired effect. Our established distribution channels were taken over by a variety of criminal elements. The established governmental structures used this as a pretext to strengthen their own powers: they now have legal capacities to intrude upon their citizens' lives that would have been unthinkable in 1967.
On a societal level, we have seen backlashes against the ideals of 1967 in the forms of "punk" and "grunge", movements that explicitly parody those ideals. Most of the experimental subjects that we were able to locate have reverted to living the typical suburban lifestyle of their parents' generation. In short, Operation Summer of Love has been a disaster.