User:Charlemagne the Hammer

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To have another language is to possess a second soul
Charlemagne the Hammer 06:46, 15 February 2006 (UTC)


Contents

[edit] Ethos

I aim to contribute or substantially edit at least one major article at Wikipedia per week. I chose this level of contribution because I believe the merit of an open resource such as Wikipedia is tarnished by a philosophy that subjugates quality with quantity. A comprehensive work about one topic is better than an adumbration of many topics. Therefore, a singular indepth review of physics is preferable to fifteen hasty sketches of the various natural sciences.

Consequential to my belief in quality over quantity is my belief that the best writers stick to their areas of expertise. The quality of a work suffers when an author who isn't an expert writes about a topic, or is forced to "dumb down" a narrative to suit the perceived audience. Journalists, for the most part, are striking examples of the point at hand. If you have no knowledge of the particular field the journalist is talking about then the journalist's narrative seems interesting, because it is about a novel topic; however, an expert in any subject will recall the times they have been frustrated with journalists for oversimplifying such subject matter in the press.

The journalist by necessity is not a master of any particular topic, but a jack of all trades, so to speak. Journalists aim to comprehend as many topics as possible in as quick a time as possible and to explain these to audiences in a simple way as possible. That is the aim of news media. It is not the aim of an encyclopaedia. An encyclopaedia is a compendium of expert knowledge. An encyclopaedia aims to be reliable, not quickly digestable. Each article should be written by an expert in the field.

It is with reluctance, therefore, that I propose to limit my contributions at Wikipedia to fields within which I feel reasonably confident of having sufficient knowledge to render a justifiable portrait. It is a small matter to Google for a few facts about Wikipedia's latest feature article and then incorporate them into the work-in-progress; I don't disparage this practice, in fact I praise it as a communal technique, but when one writes an article without the help of many others it is best to stick with what one knows, because there will not be as many other editors to point out one's errors.

[edit] Contributions

I will list the Wikipedia articles I have created or revised here.

  • Fiduciary Duty Complete Overhaul 22 February 2006
    • An article about the Fiduciary Duty imposed by Equity
  • Federalist_No._1 Major Expansion 24 February 2006
    • An article about Federalist No. 1, the first essay in The Federalist Papers

[edit] Education

Bachelor of Laws 2005-2007 QUT
Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) 2002-2004 University of Newcastle, Australia

[edit] Career

Swashbuckling journalist
Fearless editor
Prodigious advocate

[edit] Amateur Pursuits

If you're bored then you might like to use some of the key words associated with my interests and more likely than not you'll find something on Wikipedia to pass the time. I will gradually expand this section.

Physics Discrete and Continuous Reality, Reductionism, M Theory
Is space-time continuous, such that there are infinite points between any two points in space or is space-time discrete, such that there is a fundamentally indivisible unit of length? If there is a fundamentally indivisible unit of length then what is it and why can't we divide it?

Math Set theory, Infinity, Constructivism, Finitism
Can infinities exist in nature or are they confined to a conceptual role within the natural sciences? Is infinity itself necessary or even beneficial as a concept in mathematics or is it too often used to disguise a theory's inability to explain certain anomalies? Will we ever quantify everything, is it possible to know everything?

Chemistry Separations Science, Chromatography, Titration, Distillation

Jurisprudence Positivism, Federalism, Global Governance, Fascism
What is the optimal system of law by which to normalise human behaviour and prevent pernicious deviant behaviour? Is the current system of international law equipped to deal with the increasing barrage of jurisdictional problems caused by transnational situations and transactions? Would humanity benefit from a benevolent coercive one-world government?

Sociology Networks, Teamwork, Individualism, Egoism
Anthropology Participant Observation, Ethnography
Ontology Artificial Intelligence, Difference Engines
Logic Formal Logic, Enthymemes, Syllogisms, Analogies
Epistemology A Priori Knowledge
Rhetoric Oratory, Argument, Persuasion
Sophistry Tutoring, Education, Semantics
Art Realism, Classic Masters, Impressionism
History World Events, Revisionism, Pre-History and the End of History
Literature Fiction, Narrative, Poetic Form

[edit] Books

I will add more excellent books when I finish them.

Abbott, Edwin A Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1992) Dover Publications link
A short yet forcible novel about the search for extra spatial dimensions. Replete with satirical takes on 19th English social arrangements, Flatland is a thinly-disguised speculation about the limits of pre-Einsteinian physics and math. The quest to prove extra-dimensional regular geometric objects, such as a four-dimensional object bounded by eight spheres, pervades Abbott's prose. The best and shortest non-theoretical book about physics and math, which is probably why it has spawned so many copies. See, for example, flatterland and sphereland, which take flatland's general approach and apply it to newer discoveries.

Freeman, F D A Lloyd's Introduction to Jurisprudence (2001) Thomson, Sweet & Maxwell link
Wallace, David Foster Infinite Jest (1997) Back Bay Books link

[edit] Would-be Pals

Jeremy Bentham
Lord Blackstone
Leopold Kronecker
Bertrand Russell
Isaac Newton
Donald Knuth
Aristotle
Immanuel Kant
Michel Foucault
Xeno
Renoir
Michelangelo
Hunter S. Thompson
Euclid
Cantor
Mandelbrot