User:Serendipodous

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Please note, I don't usually recheck other editors' talk pages, so if you wish to leave me a response, please do so on my talk page.

We all need it eventually.
We all need it eventually.

Formerly Serendipitous; I have learned the hard way what happens when you don't specify an email and then forget your password. I've taken a shine to my misspelled name though. I would consider myself lucky-footed.

I am a former student of early modern literature living in London. I have a Masters degree in Research.

My particular interests are astronomy (particularly planetary astronomy) mythology (particularly Germanic mythology) and folklore. I also have worked substantially on the pages for many works of modern fantasy, particularly Harry Potter and Discworld. I began the articles on the definition of planet and galactic tide (though I cannot take credit for the latter's current form).

My Wiki philosophy? Well, my main principle is that it is not the job of the reader to interpret what we write; it is our job to put our point across as clearly and simply as possible. I'm not sure I like Wikipedia very much, but I think it has moved beyond such concerns; now that it has become Google's first page for practically any reference query, and now that, because mirrors have now metasticised it across the web in multifarious guises, it cannot be shut down, the only option left is to ensure that it is as accurate as possible.

As regards the tribal conflict currently raging across the once-spotless white halls of Wikipedia, I must declare myself a Mergist. I see little sense in the evangelical furvor of either the Inclusionists or the Deletionists. The Deletionists are wrongheaded from the start; Wikipedia is a house of many mansions, and all topics and ideas should be welcomed. Wikipedia has no say on what the researchers of the future will or will not find notable. However, a page consisting of a single paragraph focusing on one tiny aspect of a larger whole, which is the Inclusionists' ideal, is also unconstructive. Such pages are often misleading when taken out of context, and, devoid of the depth and narrative of a larger article, often convey less to the reader. Plus, the fragmentation of a single topic into dozens of sub-articles makes them harder to police and clarify, leaving them frequently clogged with cutesy writing and original research.

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I get into a great many Wiki-arguments. I'm not sure if this is because I meet a lot of argumentative people or just because I'm argumentative. Anyway, I started listing all my Wiki-accomplishments after one too many wikifights, because I felt I needed some way for other editors to take me seriously. Of course, this might just lead those same other editors to conclude that I'm an egocentric blusterer who really needs to get over himself, but what the heck.

Featured and good content
Barnstars Thank you! :-)
Sandbox My mad lab, where I keep my darker experiments. My unnatural spawn I offer for the general good of Wikipedia, should anyone want them.