I am a budding academic, researcher, and educator now beginning my second graduate degree. My work examines consciousness from a philosophical and social/scientific perspective. Previously, my work focused on media studies[1].
The problem with having so many varied interests is that you need people to share your thoughts with. That's why I want to write for Wikipedia. Not because this is the best platform to have conversations by any means but because I want people to have access to the odd, the enigmatic, and the interesting.
Without platforms like Wikipedia, many of the most exciting asides found in history and beyond will be relegated to lurid podcasts and true crime blogs that put entertainment value over information or hidden away in dense and inaccessible texts[2].
I will maintain an independence from faction or outside influence while editing articles. I will not edit in any material I have a direct personal stake in. While I believe individuals are inherently biased, I will practice methods to prevent such bias from perverting my contributions as much as possible. To that end I will thoroughly cite any materials I submit, edit using impartial and fair language, and remain mindful of my predilections.
Portrait of Mr. J. Kay, affected with what is now believed to have been congenital syphilis c. 1820
Before creating this profile, I had never edited or made a Wikipedia entry. I've been a longtime user and fan of this site, though. I fondly recall using Wikipedia to read about the horrors of venereal and mental disease in high school, or later as an undergraduate using the site to show a crush [3] a photo of a man's disfigured face on the Cutaneous Leishmaniasis page.
I have many interests whose related articles I would like to improve. They are listed below:
^My goal with my new degree is to develop a body of academic research pertaining to media psychology.
^There is, of course, a place for popular narrative nonfiction, but it seems harder and harder for laymen to find access to documentation that isn't muddied by speculation and exaggeration.
