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- NEW: I meant everything i wrote below, but as of late, there has been such a horrible level of vitriol and emotionally abusive dialogue, and lack of ethics and integrity on the part of an apparent gang of editors whose edits appear to be remarkably aligned with the interests of the chemical industry, that it's become clear to me that there is heavy POV pushing in the chemical industry area and Wikipedia does not currently have integrity in the articles in those areas due to being effectively captured by the chemical posse. This does appear to be happening, by my estimation, having done 6 months of participant observation, in a sociological analysis of what i have seen. I indeed am a sociologist and an anthropologist by training, and this is what i do see here. It's bad for the world. It's a capture of the main repository of knowledge, which reflects back to the human species what is known -- supposedly -- and if it's captured by a special interest, then we lose the power to think critically as a species. That's not alright.
I'm here on Wikipedia because it's a worthy project. It defines human knowledge more than any other resource that i know. It's people's go-to source for basic knowledge about the world. I'm a long-time user and sometimes contributor. I used to edit without a username, but a few months ago i signed up.
I've edited pages on electrical engineering, microbial ecology, and solar power, as well as Nepal, among other things. I've had a lot of experience in life, and i use it to improve Wikipedia when i can contribute, which is why Wikipedia is such a miracle, a combined compendium of the best minds in the world editing about what they know best.
I've been looking into pollution lately, and researching a lot about glyphosate in particular, although i have interests in a wide range of fields. I tend to focus on one topic intensively for a period of time, and to wolf down the literature about the topic, and go as deep as i can.
I was born in a place where rivers were polluted by mercury for the hat industry. The two largest rivers near me were polluted by chemicals. I have friends with cancer that may be due to chemical contamination. I think a lot about sociology of power, and i have observed power struggles in many arenas in life, from international diplomacy to war to organizational dynamics in many settings. I see the way that power corrupts, and i don't want it to corrupt human knowledge. That is why i am wary about how industry with vested interests may try to change the content of human knowledge, to remove inconvenient information. Some on Wikipedia have called this a problem. I think it's the functioning of a healthy immune system. We must be on guard against the actions of some to change the story, the basic knowledge of the human species, for self-interested reasons. This is not tin-foil hat territory. It's basic sociology and history.
I've worked as a microbial ecologist in a prestigious university, and i've designed specialized equipment to evolve microbial populations to accept or deposit electrons onto graphite electrodes for their basic metabolism. I've done high-efficiency power converter work for a solar-powered car. I've run experiments in microbial evolution. I practice agronomy. I've also studies the nexus of power and knowledge. I've seen how power sometimes wants to shut down knowledge to extend their dominion. These experiences inform my work in the world. I have observed how the fossil fuel industry has attempted to delay public knowledge about climate change and its importance. Sometimes so-called "controversial" topics are controversial because they are troubled by vested interests who don't want the best unbiased science to become accepted.
I love life, and i love knowledge, and i think Wikipedia is a wonderful creation.
Pages created:
- Sporomusa ovata (species of bacteria)
- Counterwill (psychological concept coined by Otto Rank)
- Chief Squantz (native leader in the time of colonization by Europeans)
- Zadoc Benedict (first hat maker in the "Hat City" town of Danbury, Connecticut)
- Charles Burnham (geneticist) (a noble man who helped develop blight-resistant American chesnut through back-breeding)
Conflict of interest declarations:
- I have done work with Sporomusa ovata at Harvard University, and i created the page on Sporomusa ovata. I did not cite any of my own work.
- I have done work with Geobacter spp. at Trophos Inc. and i contributed to the Geobacter page. Again, i did not cite any of my own work.
I have no financial interests bearing upon any work i have ever done at Wikipedia.