Technology & Innovation — January 16, 2011

10 Years On, Can We Trust Wikipedia?

Forget that old tagline about the Internet being an information “superhighway”. The online world is an information battlefield with pranksters and pragmatists struggling to be heard.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

And on any given day, you can find a good skirmish on Wikipedia, an encyclopedia of sorts—which celebrates its 10th anniversary on Saturday. With around 410 million monthly readers, 3.5 million articles in English alone “to Wiki” something has become a way of life for many. But these word wars themselves—fought with a mix of facts and fervour—make for a riveting record of discord. For example, U.S. president Barack Obama’s page experienced some fast and furious edits until it was blocked from public editing access, with “birthers” changing Obama’s birthplace to Kenya before it was changed back to Hawaii.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Two individuals examine a large panel of wires and components. Overlaid on the right is a chart with arrows and symbols, possibly depicting a scientific process or experiment.

Hard Science

Will protons last forever? Why scientists are searching for signs of decay

Why hasn’t matter fallen apart over billions of years? The mystery might start with protons.

Yellow book cover titled "Consider the Turkey" by Peter Singer, featuring a red illustration of a turkey—perfect for Thanksgiving reading.

Thinking

The case for sparing 46 million turkeys this Thanksgiving

Philosopher Peter Singer argues it’s time to examine a morally dubious practice.

Abstract collage showcasing two mirrored, sepia-toned portraits of an older man with wild hair and a mustache, surrounded by scientific equations on a patterned background. This piece invites viewers to ponder the right question amidst the chaos of creative thought.

The Long Game

Question: Are you asking the “right” questions?

Take it from Bezos, Musk, and Einstein — rethinking lines of inquiry can transform business, investing, and innovation strategy.

Fragmented image of the U.S. flag with white stars on a blue background and red and beige stripes, resembling weathered paint on a wall.

The one temptation to resist post-election: Good vs. evil

“Most of us aren’t sure what to think about everything, but we don’t really see that modeled anywhere, right? You’re supposed to know for sure, and there’s very little intellectual humility on social media or on TV.”

▸

4 min

—

with

Amanda Ripley

Starts With A Bang

JWST compels us to ask: what’s wrong with Vega?

The 5th brightest star in our night sky is young, blue, and apparently devoid of massive planets. New JWST observations deepen the mystery.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Is American Mysticism Inescapable?

Mysticism has no past, no genealogy, and yet it walks and knows why. How do we account for the religious imagination in the U.S. while Europe grows more and more skeptical?