A sandbox Analysis of NPOV
Discuss the following statement by Jimbo Wales
Brief statement of the neutral point of view policy A general purpose encyclopedia is a collection of synthesized knowledge presented from a neutral point of view.
Q1) What is a Point Of View? Q2) Is a neutral Point of View possible? Q3) What is synthesized knowledge?
To whatever extent possible, encyclopedic writing should steer clear of taking any particular stance other than the stance of the neutral point of view. Refer. Categorical imperative
The neutral point of view attempts to present ideas and facts in such a fashion that both supporters and opponents can agree. Of course, 100% agreement is not possible; there are ideologues in the world who will not concede to any presentation other than a forceful statement of their own point of view.
We can only seek a type of writing that is agreeable to essentially rational people who may differ on particular points.
Some examples may help to drive home the point I am trying to make. 1. An encyclopedic article should not argue that corporations are criminals, even if the author believes it to be so. It should instead present the fact that some people believe it, and what their reasons are, and then as well it should present what the other side says.
2. An encyclopedia article should not argue that laissez-faire capitalism is the best social system. (I happen to believe this, by the way.) It should instead present the arguments of the advocates of that point of view, and the arguments of the people who disagree with that point of view.
Perhaps the easiest way to make your writing more encyclopedic, is to write about what people believe, rather than what is so.
If this strikes you as somehow subjectivist or collectivist or imperialist, then ask me about it, because I think that you are just mistaken.
What people believe is a matter of objective fact, and we can present that quite easily from the neutral point of view.
Discuss Conceptual Schema http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/cpr/toc.html Immanual Kant Critique Of Pure Reason
Justin, please do not revert change the copyright notice on "Categorical imperative". The article will be eventually deleted, so that links to appear it will appear to be to a blank article, inviting people to create a new one. Blanking it out does not delete the article, only sysops may delete the article, and that is after it has been approved by "Wikipedia:Votes for deletion". --cprompt
To: myself From: Yourself re: EveryThingWikipedia
I have absolutely no idea what I am doing: I don't even know why I am writing to myself and what "Talk" is all about. The above entry "Justin, please ..." is more difficult to understand than all the philosophy I am trying to get my head around. I (sorry Myself for all the I's) guess If I have to be in a"prison" it might as well be "Wikipedia"; it's free, nay a DOMain ie FREEDOM which purports to be as good as Free beer. Well, Myself (if you are still listening), I started of, as I always do, believing I have absolutley nothing to add to what has been adequately said by many capable persons (most now dead) before. So, I click on "Categorical Imperative" (finding the Artical non existant, so I choose Kant (where I know it to be)or course) and believing that if it in Wikipedia then it is "Free". Hmmm bad choice! Categorical Imperative is Wrapped in a lot of Interesting "Kant Stoff", so Myself, I say to myself. "why not just pinch this Free bit and make it directly addressable, without changeing it (I'm sure it would have been far better to simply tag it), but like everthing else I don't know how to do it). Now the S..t hits the fan: I am accused of pinching someone elses work (so much for a FREE DOMain). Was I, Myself, stupid to assume that if permission was granted for the Article to be in Wike pedia in the first place, that then the Article could be simple be made more accessable?. Wikipedia is difficult but I guess it is all we have. It is just too bad that I have to become Wikipedia "politician, technician, lawyer, judge and jury, Nurd, Geek etc" just to be a critic rather than an Author(ity). Sorry Myself for being such a aging, winging, Australian arsole. Regards Yourself PS, Can you believe this? (at the bottom of this Talk Page too.
Please note that all contributions to Wikipedia are considered to be released under the GNU Free Documentation License (see Wikipedia:Copyrights for details). If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed at will, then don't submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource. DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION!
Talk pages are for people to discuss articles, or leave messages for you, as I'm sure you realize. When you transfer content from another source, it must either be A) Released under the GNU Free Documentation License or B) Used with the express permission from the author, under the understanding that their material will then protected under the GNU Free Documentation License. We cannot just grab whatever we want from wherever. If you'd like to use that source, you must show on the Talk page that we have permission to use it. What exists at Categorical Imperative now will suffice; your text wasn't really encyclopedic with pronouns like "our" and "we". I'm sorry if I'm appearing as harsh, but we really have to go out of our way to avoid copyright violations, which could jeopardize the site. If you've received permission to use the text you had before on Wikipedia, (and the author understand that his text will then be "copyleft"), go ahead and merge it with the existing article, after mentioning it on the Talk page. Elaboration would definately be appreciated. --cprompt
To: Myself From:Yourself Re: the above A new flash of Lightening and the Categorical Imperative appears corrected, just like devine intervention. Thankyou Cprompt. Just when I thought "this is a nice quiet corner to sit and talk to Myself" the heavens open and the Protector Of Our FREEDOMain speaks. So Myself, this is not then such a private place. So I'll have to watch my "our's and we's". "Talk pages are for people to discuss articles, or leave messages for you, as I'm sure you realize." No, Myself, I'm still not sure what Cprompt is saying. Some devine cleric has in fact done what I tried to do with Categorical Imperitive, but I still don't know what I actually did wrong. so I guess that "THIS" is the article under discussion. Did I miss the point somewhere? I guess somewhere in the Kant article is a clue to the real (external) source. If I return to Kant then I should be able to see clearly that permission has already been given to do exactly what Cprompt has so gratiously done for me (with a mild reprimand), but alas, leaving me none the wiser. Well, Myself I am really beginning to enjoy this place it is far better than the sandbox and the devine Authority is still watching my every move. So I'll have to try harder. Sorry Myself I'll have to pop out for a bit and take a peek a Kant and try to work out for myself what Cprompt was talking about. Bye for now regards Yourself
Myself
Is talking to Myself against the rules?
Is my imagination playing tricks or did I really lose my last entry?
Is it lying somewhere on the cutting room floor?
It is really wiered being an exhibit; what makes Americans want to display their "Things".
I looked up a great page: Noble Eightfold Path and find I need not be ashamed of being a hypocrite: I've reached "Right Speech".
I am resorting to Smalltalk to get some Idea of where all this Binary Relationship Modeling is going. I faintly remember SWOT Analysis. It is a great military tool: not much use though, unless you have an enemy.
I just know the answer lies in Kants [Categorical Imperative]] but nobody seems to be seeing what I see.
There has got to be a good reason. As for the sandbox. I am not making too much progress.
Jimbo Wales looks so relaxed at the wheel of his yacht; hmmmmm?
Let me try cold hard technological truth !
visualnc.im created at June 19, 2002 6:34:01 pm
Using VisualWorks Smalltalk version 7 Free Non Commercial
1 factorial 1
2 factorial 2
3 factorial 6
4 factorial 24
5 factorial 120
6 factorial 720
7 factorial 5040
8 factorial 40320
9 factorial 362880
10 factorial 3628800
11 factorial 39916800
12 factorial 479001600
13 factorial 6227020800
20 factorial 2432902008176640000 WOW!!
Now try 200 factorial !
I think I may be mad but I don't think I'm stupid.
It seems to me that if Wikipedia does not apply some determinism and allow discussion on it then it will simply either implode or explode.
But Jimbo Wales will surely argue that, that is exactly what he has set up. So why do I still feel so UNfree in his DOMain of Discourse?
I have lifted from Karl Marx, No I am not a Marxist, to emphasize my point:
"In general, Marx's thought has been influenced by two often contradictory elements: determinism and activism." .
I searched Philosophy and then Pragmatism and now do believe why Wikipedia is, on the one hand good but exceedingly irritating, on the other.
Apart from corresponding with Myself [(the "Am" that "Is" "out there"), harking back the "Rene Descartes" "Cogito Ergo Sum" I think therefore I am], I don't really know which way to look.
Is Wikipedia merely a tool for the "inquisitive" or the Inquisitioner??
Methinks not all is what is seems.
I guess that I will just keep muddling on then until I find the door or fall into the pit.
If I were not so old and tired, blind and incompetent, I would consider creating a GNU version of Wikipedia myself.
Nupedia appears to be even more (pragmaticaly) conservative than Wikipedia.
“Not Free as in Free Dom, Free speech or even Free Beer”, but Free as in Thought.
Yourself
PS: some kind person will guide me to a quiet place I hope, where I can be less disruptive.