Un-edited transcription of this previously released podcast. Audio links: iTunes. Stitcher. YouTube. Transcription: The Initial Debate It’s a faux pas in some intellectual circles — mostly conservative ones — to say that there was a Dark Ages in European history. But the mainstream view, by contrast, has been that the Middle Ages were a dark […]

Anti-Federalists, who feared a powerful central government, demanded greater assurances.

John Stossel, who himself has been "smeared" by Wikipedia, recently fought back by writing about its left-wing bias, alternatives to the online encyclopedia, and ways to improve Wikipedia itself:

At least things may be changing now, because there are new options, like SciencePedia and Justapedia covering science and law.

"Justapedia," says [journalist Ashley] Rindsberg, "was founded by a veteran Wikipedia editor who couldn't handle the left-wing bias. ... This is exactly what we need ... people to be able to choose among different sources, so we're not all forced into the Wikipedia information funnel."

Most important, since he has an extraordinary track record of success, is Elon Musk's Grokipedia. It's new and AI, so it makes mistakes, but Grok currently leads AI intelligence tests.

When it comes to topics I checked out, such as the probable origins of COVID, and my page, Grokipedia does better.

"Is there any way to fix Wikipedia?" I ask Rindsberg.

"The best chance we have is for dedicated people who are really interested in these topics to get in there and become an editor that can make those kinds of changes. We only need a few dozen, maybe even fewer, to make an impact ... If enough people say ... 'I'm going to give it a go.' ... they actually can make an impact. The question is, are enough people going to take that leap?"

As a commenter states, one should always seek more than one source of information when conducting research. I completely agree and stress that this would be true even if Wikipedia weren't biased.

I applaud Stossel for reporting this problem and sympathize with his effort to address the issue, although I think the latter is a tougher nut to crack than getting better people involved.

Our culture is saturated with the kinds of philosophical ideas that cause people to default to leftism, and as long as that remains true, eradicating this kind of bias will resemble a game of whack-a-mole. Ultimately, one must fight to change the fundamental, philosophical ideas of a culture, including supporting those who do, to make real headway.

As Ayn Rand once noted:

There is only one power that determines the course of history, just as it determines the course of every individual life: the power of man's rational faculty -- the power of ideas. If you know a man's convictions, you can predict his actions. If you understand the dominant philosophy of a society, you can predict its course. But convictions and philosophy are matters open to man's choice.

In the meantime, it helps everyone searching for knowledge to be aware of such biases as they do the mental work necessary to learn new things -- which will always entail questioning new information and testing it against the rest of their knowledge.

-- CAV

"An intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way."

~ Charles Bukowski