The Depths of Wikipedia

Have you ever read an article online and been like I think maybe this person just needs to get laid? I’d like you to meet Bryan Henderson, who as of recently has edited over 91,000 instances of the phrase “comprised of” on Wikipedia. I came across his existence thanks to the Depths of Wikipedia TikTok powered by Annie Rauwerda, and I read enough of his 5,400 word manifesto on why he’s doing this in the first place to get a feel for the room so to speak. From one angle, this is just Bryan’s version of building a train set in the garage and I think it’s incredible. From another angle, I think it’s an example of what I was tinkering with a bit on Saturday around the idea that human nature itself might be what ultimately insulates us from hypothetical external catastrophes via AI or aliens or whatever else. I.E. we might just be too annoying or inane at scale to be worth the time or attention it would take for something else to subjugate or permanently destroy us. Sort of like how we feel about fire ants.

Depths of Wikipedia is an incredible project and frankly I’m obsessed with it. I found it sometime within the last year, and it’s become a perfect example to me of both the hilarious realities of Earth and everything in it, and the nearly infinite opportunities that exist around surfacing data for each other in interesting ways. Over the weekend I listened to something from David Friedberg on why data is the new oil, and it solidified my stance that being alive right now fucking rules regardless of the various existential thunderstorms making their way across the prairie-adjacent face of our shared experience and existence. If the meaning of life really is as simple as enjoying the passage of time, then laughing with each other about the Bryan Henderson in all of us is how I plan on spending most of it and I encourage you to think about doing the same.