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Ainee	819541.  Thu May 26, 2011 3:33 pm Younger son taught me a Qi fact he discovered, and demonstrated: Wikipedia Philosophy Whichever Wikipedia page you go to first, click on the first highlighted link (which is not in brackets). Repeat process. Within a dozen clicks, Wikipedia will ALWAYS take you to their 'Philosophy' page. Each First Link which reappears (highlighted) will speed up the number of returns to Philosophy. They tested this theory for 30 minutes in lunch break, and it has proved true. The question we are all wondering is: WHY?
Spoilt Victorian	819543.  Thu May 26, 2011 3:36 pm post 818651 There's a bit of a discussion on the permutations starting here. Vikki
Ainee	819552.  Thu May 26, 2011 4:03 pm Interesting! Shared with Youngerson. Thank you! This is like discovering 'Googlewhack' all over again!
CB27	819586.  Thu May 26, 2011 5:45 pm Did anyone tell David Gorman?
Celebaelin	820157.  Sun May 29, 2011 7:22 am Ainee wrote: The question we are all wondering is: WHY? I'll have a bash at answering that. Wiki starts with a definition or explanation of whatever the subject of the article is. When you are defining stuff eventually you come to the point where you need to define terms of reference. Each time I've tried this so far eventually I come to the Wiki Knowledge article and from there getting to philosophy is a matter of certainty as the chain goes Knowledge Fact Information Sequence Mathematics Quantity Property (philosophy) Modern philosophy Philosophy That in seeking to define something, or in this case a chain of somethings, we should eventually arrive at an article which refers to the field of knowledge itself is surely no surprise? Whichever way you start to describe an apple say (I'll try this one in a minute) eventually, possibly in an accelerated manner because of the way Wiki leans towards science, you will get to a field of study be it horticulture, botany or whatever and that starts you along the path whereby you will eventually need to define knowledge and that will, should and does lead you inexorably to philosophy. I don't discount the possibility of more remote routes to the 'knowledge turning point'; in a 32 step sequence starting with a biological phenomenon I quickly got to Human physiology but then took a bit of a detour via such things as Ancient Greek, Social sciences, Interaction and eventually Physics from which point the path to Philosophy is a certainty (via the Knowledge article). As an aside if you carry on 4 more steps beyond Philosophy you encounter a loop back to Science. Science Knowledge Fact Information Sequence Mathematics Quantity Property (philosophy) Modern philosophy Philosophy Existence Sense Physiology Science I'm now going to go and see how philosophical apples are! Last edited by Celebaelin on Sun May 29, 2011 7:58 am; edited 1 time in total
Ameena	820165.  Sun May 29, 2011 7:46 am Woo I tried it... Simba Lion Big cat Felidae Family (biology) Biological classification Biologist Scientist System Latin Italic languages Indo-European languages Language family Language Human Taxonomy Ancient Greek Greek language Greeks Nation Soveriegn state State (polity) Social sciences Fields Academia Community Interaction Causality Result Sequence Mathematics Quantity Property (philosophy) Modern philosophy Philosophy So, from Simba to philosophy in over 30 steps :D.
Celebaelin	820168.  Sun May 29, 2011 7:55 am Apple Pome Flowering plant Embryophyte Plant Life Physical body Physics Natural Science Science etc. 19 steps to Philosophy in total. Perhaps something less tangible - how about Fauvism Fauvism Modern art Abstraction Hierarchy Ordered set Order theory Mathematics Quantity Property (philosophy) Modern philosophy Philosophy 11 steps, but not via knowledge; the first common point is mathematics. What about colour... Color Visual perception Light Electromagnetic radiation Energy Physics Natural science Science etc 17 steps to Philosophy. OK, how about dung? Dung Feces Waste Litter Caliphate of Córdoba Iberian Peninsula Europe Continent Landmass Land Earth Planet Orbit Physics Natural Science Science 25 steps in all. That's enough I think.
Celebaelin	820178.  Sun May 29, 2011 8:42 am This is vaguely addictive. NASCAR Auto racing Motorsport Motorcycle racing Motorcycle sport Sport Organization Social group Social cohesion Social policy Quality of life International development Concept Cognition Science 23 total.
Celebaelin	820197.  Sun May 29, 2011 10:57 am Well here's an odd one J. R. R. Tolkien Order of the British Empire Chivalric order Knight Warrior Combat Violence Psychological manipulation Social influence Conformity Unconscious mind German philosophy Philosophy 13 steps. It doesn't support my idea about it being something to do with defining your terms when describing stuff and seems a little abrupt. The step from conformity to unconscious mind seems incongruous - perhaps the editors have grasped this meme and are twisting it a bit; a link to society would seem to be more appropriate. Quote: Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to what individuals perceive is normal of their society or social group. This influence occurs in small groups and society as a whole, and may result from subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social pressure. Without foreknowledge I decided to check the path from society... Society Interpersonal relationship Limerence Psychologist Clinical psychology Mental disorder Psychology Science 17 in total.
Ian Dunn	820225.  Sun May 29, 2011 2:23 pm I've just done it now, starting at a random article: Wind Dancer Mutant (Marvel Comics) Comic book Magazine Publication Content (media) Information Sequence Mathematics Quantity Property (philosophy) Modern philosophy Philosophy So that's 13 articles I visited.
RLDavies	820940.  Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:02 am Philosophy and science are supposed to be considerations of universal truths. Which would mean they include everything. And now Wikipedia proves it!
Southpaw	820948.  Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:23 am I would like to see a giant map of the interconnections between Wikipedia articles...
PDR	820950.  Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:32 am Celebaelin wrote: Well here's an odd one Without foreknowledge I decided to check the path from society... Society Interpersonal relationship Limerence Psychologist Clinical psychology Mental disorder Psychology Science So according to wiki between society and science there must always be mental disorder? That's an interesting speculation... PDR
Celebaelin	820960.  Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:22 am I don't think Wiki claims to present an ultimate truth but rather merely to explain notions. Limerence, for example, is a concept not a matter of established fact and whilst it's entertaining to think that society as a whole regards science as a form of mental dysfunction the connection that Wiki is making is that mental disorders are studied scientifically. True to form Wiki presents this as fact and so largely do the psychologists, individual opinions may differ. This is of course all too relevant in light of the events surrounding the recent BBC documentary on the abuse of the learning impaired. http://www.carehome.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1553005/bbc-panorama-care-home-investigation-four-arrested http://www.bristol247.com/2011/06/01/four-arrested-at-bristol-care-home-after-bbc-panorama/ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392892/BBC-Panorama-care-home-investigation-4-arrested-police-probe-launched.html
Moosh	821040.  Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:58 pm Southpaw wrote: I would like to see a giant map of the interconnections between Wikipedia articles... I wouldn't. Wikipedia has something like 18 million articles on it at the moment, some that link to thousands of others, and some that are linked to by thousands of others. Way too much data to be able to make sense of visually as a map.

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