What Wikipedia Teaches Us about Truth and Beliefs

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

Wikipedia is the largest and most-read reference work in history, and has consistently been one of the 10 most popular websites. It's an online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers who disagree on many of the topics on which they collaborate.

So, how do we unite minds and disparate views? Instead of seeking one key truth, we must shift to a minimum viable truth, getting it right enough, enough of the time to be useful enough to enough people.

The speaker, Katherine Maher, is the former CEO and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia. In this talk, she delves into the transparent, adaptable, and community-building ways the online encyclopedia brings free and reliable information to the public -- while also accounting for bias and difference of opinion.

This 15-minute TED talk was recorded May 2022. You can preview it at www.ted.com/talks/katherine_maher_what_wikipedia_teaches_us_about_balancing_truth_and_beliefs.

Attend in Person:
You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch. If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.

# ----------

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, go to
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81653890712?pwd=QzN4MTVNbGEwQ0Zua3d1VG9tVE50UT09
No password is needed -- our host will admit you from the waiting room.
Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it's not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634
You can also call any of the following phone numbers, and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode, in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
Find an international phone number to call here:
https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6

***

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HumanistCommSV/status/1684720590018813952
Website: http://www.humanists.org/blog/2023-07-30/
Videos of previous forums: https://vimeo.com/hcsv/
Add this event to your Google Calendar here.

To help our Forum series continue, please consider making a donation or becoming a member ([http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)](http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)) of the Humanist Community.

***

If you would like to speak at a Humanist Forum, or know someone who would, or there is a topic you think we should discuss, please let us know by emailing [vp@humanists.org](mailto:vp@humanists.org) or [havasy@live.com](mailto:havasy@live.com).