The Evolution of Wikipedia

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A lot of the problems of science funding stem from the fact that bureaucracies ossify over time. Could we expect the same to happen with Wikipedia, which is a nonprofit? I do think that you've got an extraordinary culture in the Wikimedia Foundation who are the people who facilitate Wikipedia. They're very global. You know, there's only about 200 people who actually work for the Wikimedia Foundation. So I think if we keep pushing for that, then it doesn't have to become backwards and archaic. We can keep progressing for something that was more fair and equal and representative for everyone.

Jessica Wade is a physicist at Imperial College London who, while spending her day working on special carbon-based materials that can be used as semiconductors, has spent her nights writing nearly 2,000 Wikipedia entries about underrepresented figures in science. That, along with numerous other forms of public engagement—including writing a children’s book about nanotechnology—is all in an effort to actually do something productive to correct gender and racial biases in STEM.

She joined Tyler to discuss if there are any useful gender stereotypes in science, distinguishing between productive and unproductive ways to encourage women in science, whether science Twitter is biased toward men, how AI will affect gender participation gaps, how Wikipedia should be improved, how she judges the effectiveness of her Wikipedia articles, how she’d improve science funding, her work on chiral materials and its near-term applications, whether writing a kid’s science book should be rewarded in academia, what she learned spending a year studying art in Florence, what she’ll do next, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded February 21st, 2023

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