[WikiEN-l] "Pseudoscience" as POV

Fri Jul 8 15:29:04 UTC 2005

Just when you think you've got it figured out ... it changes!

I thought we had all agreed that the Neutral Point Of View policy
requires Wikipedia to take no sides in any controversy. I harbored the
belief that when it comes to [[protoscience]], i.e., discoveries of new
scientific knowledge which have NOT QUITE been fully established,
Wikipedia would avoid endorsing the new "knowledge" - at least pending
final confirmation.

If astronomers at Harvard, and professors at MIT, are still disputing
the truth of the new hypothesis, maybe it's too early to enshrine it as
REALLY SO - and way too early to dismiss as [[pseudoscience]] all the
skepticism which says that an alternate explanation is still viable.

Along comes Dr. William Connolley and his mates. They have
simultaneously begun a WikiProject to delete articles which (in their
view) promote pseudoscience, and, wait for it...

...actually nominated Connolley for adminship!

I marked up the nomination with strikeout text at four points and
appended my signed corrections, and have been 3RR'ed into oblivion and
threatened with my first-ever user block. What is this, the borking of
Ed Poor?

We need to tread carefully on this.

Uncle Ed