Wikipedia often gets taken for granted – but its history is fascinating, and its future is fragile
Summary
Wikipedia was founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger as a free, user-edited encyclopedia. Despite early skepticism, it has become a widely used source of information, built on ideas from philosophy and technology, and continues to operate largely as it did 20 years ago.Key Facts
- Wikipedia was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001.
- It is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
- The English Wikipedia contains about 5.2 billion words.
- There are no paid fact-checkers on Wikipedia; edits are made by volunteers.
- Wikipedia’s foundation draws on philosophical ideas like constructivism and wabi-sabi (beauty in imperfection).
- Ward Cunningham invented the “wiki,” the type of webpage that anyone can edit, which Wikipedia uses.
- Wales hired a philosopher as the only paid employee, showing the importance of philosophy in Wikipedia’s creation.
- Early contributors, called Wikipedians, played a key role in shaping Wikipedia’s culture and content.
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