Why Is Wikipedia So Boring?

I grew up reading the Encyclopedia Britannica and later Microsoft Encarta. Britannica is a humongous set where every part of the page is filled with text, beautiful images and little sections with extra information / questions you have to think about. There are quotes, formulae with graphs and diagrams and colour coded pages for easy reference. It was a delight flipping through the pages and being marveled by the wonders of the world. Encarta, on the other hand, was a 2 CD set. Once you popped it in, the amazement never ceased. It was designed like a game, had awe-inspiring graphics and the whole fun was in the exploration. There were links connecting various topics letting you travel through the maze of time and space. It was also full of beautiful images, and, in addition, had videos and audio clips too. I would spend hours with it.

Today, we have Wikipedia. It, of course, contains more up-to-date information than any encyclopedia ever has. It is translated into many more languages and is, without doubt, one of mankind's greatest achievements. However, it does not inspire the same awe as the encyclopedias of yore did. It is mainly text - with abysmally low quality images at one corner and is littered with links (which, honestly, get in the way of a great reading experience).

This is a culmination of two factors, i think. Firstly, MediaWiki, the technology that powers Wikipedia, is quite restrictive on integration of rich media and its presentation, and secondly, Wikipedia is essential run by a clique which controls exactly how the content looks (Over 75% of the edits are done by 2% of the people*). This is not to portray them as being evil, they are only adhering to the design principles of the site that has failed to evolve with time. Like any other community based design, Wikipedia is trite and plain boring.

Imagine a site that has the breadth of content that Wikipedia does, and yet is gorgeous. Think of a site where the text is intermixed with rich images, informative videos from all across the internet, audio files and fascinating animations. Picture an interaction that draws you in, delights you with the experience and leaves you gasping for more. There will be slideshows with commentary on Da Vinci's greatest works, virtual objects that obey your command so that you can take a tour of the Taj Mahal or the Pyramids, maps that transport you across time to show the empire of Attila, and oceans that take you deep beneath, opening doors into worlds you never knew existed. Stories will come to life, characters will blossom and their lives will play out in front of us. And (for my personal satisfaction), there will be a companion "Hitchhiker's Guide" version.

Wouldn't you be eager to learn something new all the time, then?

Originally posted on my Posterous blog

Questions and Musings

Every once in a while, i wake up with a question - almost always insignificant and ridiculous - that i do not know the answer to. I obsess over it for a while, sometimes days, and then try to find an answer. I thought is might be a nice exercise to publish these questions, along with my thoughts on how they can be answered in a public forum like a blog. It will help me get different perspectives and might help generate more ideas.

Today, i created my first post and asked my first question - what can make the rubik's cube more fun? It's over at Posterous. No real reason why it should be there. I like the simplicity and i like the fact that i can post by sending an email - something i do often, now, from my phone.

I hope to ask about a question a week. Hop over there and see if you like what you see.

Wind of Unnecessary Change

(Achilles, the Great Fleet-Footed Warrior, has returned from his Conquests and is resting as the Turtle walks in)

Turtle: Hallo, oh Great Fleet-Footed Warrior!

Achilles: Ah, Turtle! Just the one I was looking for. I have just returned from my conquests and am very tired to make myself a drink of Rose Water. Would you be kind enough to make me one?

Turtle: That is an odd drink, my friend. However, I might have a solution for you.

Achilles: Oh, thank you! Here is my glass.

Turtle: No. I might have a way by which you can have your drink without either of us making it.

Achilles: Turtle, I have just returned from my Conquests. Please don’t play tricks with me.

Turtle: Hear me out. In front of you is a well of water. And today is a windy day.

Achilles: Balmy, I’d say. Almost like we are in the United Kingdom, though it won’t be formed for another thousand years.

Turtle: Right. So, we’ll use this circular contraption with 4 wings, tie a rope around it and tie a bucket at one end and this stone at the other.

Achilles: You built the contraption quite quickly for a Turtle!

Turtle: Now let us place your glass with the rose petals here. (Points next to the well). As the wind blows, the contraption – let us call it the Winder…

Achilles: Do we have to capitalize it?

Turtle: Yes, because it is one of a kind. So, the Winder turns, thus lowering the bucket into the well. This is when you kick the stone and change the direction of the Winder. Now, the stone goes down, the bucket comes up, hits the edge of the well, tumbles and pours the water into your glass. The straw in the glass goes into your mouth and you enjoy the lovely Rose Water. As the bucket becomes empty, it turns around – thus changing the direction of the Winder and then it goes down the well. So, you can drink an infinite number of glasses of Rose Water.

Achilles: That is a great idea – changing the direction of the Winder according to the wind. We could call the whole setup ‘Wind of Change’. We would write a song about it – I can even think of the lead.

Turtle: Of course, we could. We could ask Scorpion to sing it for us. One thing that you need to careful about – the rate at which you drink the Rose Water should be greater than or equal to the Wind of Change. Else, most of the Rose Water will be wasted.

Achilles: Oh! Can’t I just use a bigger glass?

Turtle: You could for a while. Depending of the difference in rates, it will sooner or later overflow too.

Achilles: What do I do, then?

Turtle: You could fill a whole set of glasses at any given instant and invite others to drink from them. Maybe serve some Bread too. You could call it ‘Bread And Rose Water’.

Achilles: BAR, for short! This will be interesting!

Education, today, is one of the most discussed topics – right after the environment, world poverty and Hannah Montana. The topic of discussion, chiefly, is to find a solution to illiteracy and to make education more accessible. The answer we have come up with is free education over the internet. This is our Wind of Change. When education is free for all and accessible to anyone, everyone will be educated and the world will rid itself of illiteracy. Surely. Well, on the contrary, it really depends on the definition of ‘illiteracy’ itself.

Today, we look at anyone who cant write as being illiterate. This is simply a bar we have set for ourselves. In the next 20 years, after the advent of online education, everyone in the world will have a college degree. What makes it difficult for us to redefine ‘illiteracy’ as someone having only one college degree? The trouble is that we only have a limited number of jobs and we have to change the criteria of selection and hence redefine certain terms. Our glasses will be full and we wouldn’t be able to drink quickly enough. The Wind would be too strong.

The actual solution is to make the education system less of a factory and more as a means of personal expression. Why can’t a 7 year old choose music over social studies in school? What should a fifth grader be forced to learn science when he loves soccer instead? Why should the ballerina in third grade be compelled to do her English homework? Why are science and math so sanctimonious and arts so looked down upon? What makes geography or civics superior subjects to documentary photography or charcoal painting? I think it is time we questioned some basic assumptions about an education system that was designed to provide workforce during the industrial revolution two hundred years back.

Will an online education system solve these problems and aid us in breaking-free of these psychological metal chains tied to our feet? Maybe. Right now, we aren't trying hard enough and we are only hoping our glass magically gets bigger.

I think its time we headed to the nearest bar.

The Engine Comes To A Halt

He was a fine friend and a guide. He showed us the right path more often than not and sometimes when he didn't, he still showed us something interesting enough. Quick with an answer to all our questions and sometimes even telling us what to look for in our quest - he will be missed a trifle...



I don't know about you, but i find myself searching a lot less now. 

I find that more often than not, i know the source that will provide the information that i am looking for. If i want news or interesting things to read - i turn to Google Reader, for information or learning - i head toward my podcasts. I know where to go to buy books, to book movie tickets or to find answers to specific questions. I know what my friends are up to and i know where to go to find out how my favorite sports teams are faring.

Further, search today is fantastic for searching documents. And that's the other big problem. The most iconic moments in the recent past - right from Obama's historic speeches to the mumbai tragedy - are much more vividly captured in video and photos than in text. Need help in tying your bow tie - watch a video that teaches you how to. Want to know why the world is flat - listen to the audiobook. Wish to learn how to play the major chords - watch the podcast. Have a burning desire to learn a new language - let them teach you via a screencast. There are more videos added on YouTube or photos on Flickr everyday than there are words in the NY Times. Communicating through words is vanishing almost as fast as the polar ice caps and unlike that one, it isn't necessarily bad. The only problem is that the search engines haven't figured out how to mine these media and hence finding them through traditional search is extremely cumbersome.

To be fair, there is still a large amount of text being produced - however, lesser and lesser of it is intrinsically searchable. The most interesting conversations happen on twitter; slightly less interesting ones in orkut communities. Be a fly on a facebook wall or stick around long enough on a ning network and you are bound to stumble upon something delicious.  It does not matter if you don't digg slashdot anymore or if hacker news isn't your mixx - you have to be living under a rock to ignore them. Sip from the tumblr of vintage yahoo groups and watch your second life take wings. Sadly, the search engines are not invited to this party.

So, there you have it. The end of the ubiquitous search engine is nigh.

... Always humble, in his white suit and the lone textbox, we know he'll find his way to heaven passing the tagclouds on his way. May his soul rest in peace as it asks us one last time - Are we feeling  lucky?

Anantapur Diary

'My name is Rafi', he ventured his hand toward me. 'Mohammad Rafi'. I have always wanted a second name, just so that i could pull off the 'Bond. James Bond' routine. He was the driver who was taking me to a town for a photography assignment. Rafi loved qawali and we listened to it for the entire four hour journey - including a fifteen minute rendition of 'tum toh tehere pardesi'.

***

Dinner was at a roadside dhaba. It was an open field and round tables were strewn around not unlike how you would find a garden party the day after. The wind blowing through the field was interrupted by the large trucks that were parked all around it. We ordered the usual fare and it was delicious. 'So, which newspaper do you work for?' - one of the people at my table, with a mouthful of chicken, asked me. 'No, no newspaper', i, serving myself some dal, replied. 'Oh, freelance you are' he seemed satisfied with his own conclusion. 'Ah no', i corrected him - though i later realized it was a wrong move, 'Photography is just a hobby. I am not a professional.'

'Biryani?', the helpful owner of the dhaba intervened. 'No', i refused politely. 'Curd Rice?'. 'Well, ok.', i couldn't refuse again. 'But nowadays there are lots of certification courses. Biryani naaku. You must have done them certainly', he wasn't going to let go of the topic so easily. 'No, i haven't', i answered honestly. 'Oh', he said as he started devouring his biryani. A radio in the kitchen was playing old hindi songs and a dog came up and slept near my feet. 'But such assignments you would have done before, no?' - he wasn't as confident now as he was with his earlier questions. He was bordering on hope. 'This is my first one', i said. The rest of the dinner was rather quiet after that.

***

It was about eleven in the morning - the usual period of inactivity - and some of us were sitting below a tree, trying to shield ourselves from the scorching andhra heat. My host - an ex-army man - was regaling us with stories from the 'good ol' days' as all army men are wont to do. The regular fare that would go into the classic army book - 'How one of my friends killed himself in Russian Roulette and other drunken tales from the trenches'. All of a sudden he turned to me and asked, 'How much money do you make in a month?'. Typically, this would have been a personal question. However, in my case, it wasn't even personal - i didn't exactly know myself either. 'Thirty thousand', i lied - i think. 'Wow! What do you do with so much money?'. 'I... er..' - to be fair to me, i wasn't quite sure what i really did with my money. 'Lots of girlfriends, aa?', he grinned. He wasn't even waiting for me to reply now and i realized it didn't matter what i said. 'When i was a young man, i would charm women with my personality and not with money - nowadays it is all about money, isn't it? Have money, get girl. Just like beer.' he bellowed in laughter at his own wit. How i wish, i thought.

***

I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I had my sneakers on, a backpack on my, well, back and a camera with a relatively large lens in one hand and a bottle of water in another. The other thirty people around me were wearing a vest, a lungi and a funny expression. Finally, someone picked up the courage, came up to me and asked, almost mockingly, 'Foreigner aa?'.

***