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--- rationalwiki [2026/08/21 10:45] – created ultracomfy
+++ rationalwiki [2026/09/01 09:41] (current) – ultracomfy
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   - Analysis and criticism of how these subjects are handled in the media.
-RationalWiki is an excellent resource for anyone interested in anything to do with science and disinformation surrounding science. I lovingly call it "Ratwiki" for short (which has nothing to do with rats) and turn to it whenever I need information on a topic without Wikipedia being really, really careful with their wording to not upset anybody. Look, alternative medicine is a scam, and Rationalwiki will call it a scam. Using the SPOV, the "scientific point of view", Rationalwiki makes the kind of statements all academics agree on but the public wouldn't hear because the public wants a "balanced point of view" in their reporting. No, ghosts do not exist. Neither do UFOs. Rationalwiki leads with a humanist and empirical perspective that rejects the supernatural and superstitious. There is a **rational** explanation for everything. And hence the name RationalWiki was born.
+I like to think of Rationalwiki as the [[Wikipedia]] that doesn't beat around the bush. As RationalWiki puts it themselves: "Wikipedia has NPOV: Neutral Point of View. RationalWiki has SPOV. [...] In line with the "not an encyclopedia" guideline, RationalWiki is not required to present "neutral" articles. RationalWiki articles should uncompromisingly explain what is bullshit, what is not, and (most importantly) //why//. [...] The scientific method and the information gained from its application is better than just about anything else humanity has come up with"(([[https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/SPOV|RationalWiki: SPOV]])).
-RationalWiki originated as a response to Conservapedia, a US conservative alternative to Wikipedia written to reflect what they believed was true. The users of conservapedia believe that Wikipedia is riddled with a "liberal" and "atheist" bias, using Conservapedia to blame liberals, atheists, migrants, gay, trans or any other kind of people for any perceived problem in society. It states Jesus, Christianity and god's creation as fact, denies evolution and describes heteronormativity as the only way to have sex. From there it goes on to pander to virtually any intelligence-based topic under the sun - climate change, conspiracies about 9/11, conspiracies about the moon landing, gun laws, sexuality, it just never stops. Look, flat earth is a tactial conspiracy made up by, ehem, "evolutionists" (ie. people who believe in evolution) to make Christians look bad.
+The reason I quote so much from RationalWiki statements directly is because they make true on that promise. Personally, my favorites are RationalWiki's articles on alternative medicine, pseudoscience and conspiracies. As part of their mission, RationalWiki is specifically targeting these topics, analysing them, calling out the bullshit and giving good, scientifically based alternatives for what really is true. A very classic example of this is RationalWiki's pages on Flat Earth(([[https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Flat_Earth|RationalWiki: Flat Earth]])), which points out how Flat Earth is wrong, how we know it's wrong and what really is true, using the kinds of resources scientists in the field use to find the scientific consensus (think studies/papers).
+Lovingly called "Ratwiki" and often just abbreviated to RW, RationalWiki was born as a response to Conservapedia, which itself was created as a response to Wikipedia, because some editors believed that Wikipedia is riddled with a "liberal" and "atheist" bias. Editors on Conservapedia use the platform to blame liberals, atheists, migrants, gay, trans or any other kind of people for any perceived problem in society. It states Jesus, Christianity and god's creation as fact, denies evolution and describes heteronormativity as the only way to have sex. From there it goes on to pander to virtually any intelligence-based topic under the sun - climate change, conspiracies about 9/11, conspiracies about the moon landing, gun laws, conspiracies big pharma, sexuality, it just never stops. Look, flat earth is a tactial conspiracy made up by, ehem, "evolutionists" (ie. people who believe in evolution) to make Christians look bad.
+The result is RationalWiki, a very comprehensive documentation of pseudoscience, crank, quackery and fundamentalism complete with a full, scientifically grounded analysis. While not as influential as Wikipedia herself, RationalWiki is definitely by far one of my favorite internet projects regardless and stands as one of the prime locations on the internet for science communication.