[Week 1] Five Clicks to Hitler

by Frederic Pedersen

for the Collective Intelligence in Practice course
Associated professor: Piotr Konieczny
Hanyang University ERICA, South Korea

For the purpose of an introduction to an ethnographic study of Wikipedia, the class was assigned to read the following sections of Joseph Reagle's Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Wikipedia: 

• Foreword by Lawrence Lessig
• Preface to the Web Edition
• Preface.

The question assigned to us was: "What do I know about Wikipedia and what do I want to learn about it?"

The purpose of this blog post is to discuss these readings and the question assigned.

1. Summary

Unknown depths must be explored. Such is human nature. Since ancient times we've looked upon the night sky, hoping one day to fill it with knowledge. However, reaching a perfect state is impossible. Except, doesn't that depend on the exact definition of impossible?

The Foreword consists of Lawrence Lessig's comment on the impossibility of the state Wikipedia exists in - manned by volunteers through a wide range of age and rank, which provides the most modern go-to internet encyclopedia. Self-proclaimed elites from across the digital industry were not aware of its existence until years after its creation - there was simply not enough attention given to it, as if there was a proportional amount of belief that such a project would thrive.

Lessig recounts Reagle as an individual whose abilities were at risk of being lost in endless studies without bearing fruit, when Reagle returned to graduate school to obtain his PhD. He had more knowledge of the technology behind Wikipedia than the people he intended to study for the subject. As Lessig states, the book produced by Reagle proves him wrong.

The community Reagle explores, the Wiki community, is described as one that accepts and fights about principles, and through that struggle, is defined.

Reagle himself puts quite humbly that "one must start somewhere", to which he moves on to my favorite quote in the reading so far:

"The perfect is the enemy of the good." (Reagle, J. M. Jr., 2011)

2. Learnings and items of interest

The above quote illustrates Reagle's perspective that the Wiki project is not about attaining a perfect state, but rather to work hard to create something good - like a baker who tries countless times to make a nice pastry that many people can enjoy, versus spending his entire lifetime on a single ideal cake.
I learned from these initial chapters, some initial overviews and introduction to how the perspectives of the Wikipedia collaborators work. I see it as hard-working, but smart-working, through a strong peer collaboration. I see parallels to this in my own reality; keeping individuals that follow the same principles as I near me helps me develop, but towards a state that cannot be initially imaged, but will ultimately end up as a potential much greater than each individual could produce.

I see these impossibilities as one of the most early recognizable traits or features of the Internet: The sheer accessibility that any individual could have at a given time. This can technically produce an infinite amount of totally unpredictable results, which can be quite entertaining, such as the Wiki Games that were invented alongside time spent browsing the depths of Wikipedia - clicking through articles from a random entry to see how long it takes to get to Adolf Hitler. But from an ethnographic perspective, collaborators across the internet learn to understand that "unlikelihoods" do come to pass quite quickly and suddenly. As the internet grows older, so do ethics of the groups of people, which become more and more refined.

3. Discussion angle

Ethics of the Internet are arguably one of the most interesting topics to discuss for any e-citizen. It permeates all, and somewhere we dream of the perfect balance between the free but also safe Internet.

As we inevitably become more and more integrated with technology, the very real physical risks of unethical behaviour approaches our everyday lives. I wish to explore further what sort of cross-culture standards exist in the world between IT-integrated nations, as I believe we may all suddenly become very connected. Exponential and immersive technologies are not the only things I talk about - think of all kinds of impossible interfaces. Skin-layers of molecular oscillators that allow you to change your appearance using the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Breath- and particle-based nanomachinery that change your voice or metabolism. Dream-state computer interaction that uploads and downloads information while you sleep, train skills or live lives. All kinds of unexplored horizons that may suddenly cause technology to integrate in completely unpredictable ways. 

What will happen when there really are no more physical barriers? How will you really treat a room full of people all from wildly different backgrounds and lives and environments? How can you be sure you will see them again?

From a sociological perspective, I believe we must explore communication more in-depth. There may be answers to find if we can understand each other in a more structured manner. What languages do we really need? Are they even verbal? What kind of things do we need to start knowing better about ourselves, and what we might do with ourselves in the future?