User:La comadreja

 C ONTACT: reseal05@gmail.com


 * I am a custodian on the English Wikiversity, a Wikimedia project that hosts open, wiki-based research and courseware. My primary interest is in developing Wikiversity's research facilities, particularly in Computational Biology.  In the past, I have been involved with other areas of the encyclopedia, including WikiProject Judaism articles and attempts at dispute resolution.  Since school limits the amount of time I have, my editing tends to be sporadic.


 * My Username is Spanish for "the weasel," after the cute little animal that takes after its cousin the otter. In this video, it looks like it's swimming through the meadow as it chases after things that seem completely absurd.  Weasels will put up a remarkable fight against coyotes, humans and other large animals.  Whatever the English language makes them into, weasels are my heroes because of their fearlessness in the face of adversity and their grace when taking on challenges greater than themselves.


 * I know User:CordeliaNaismith personally and often work with her on Wikipedia. I've also presented at real-life Wikimedia events and met other Users face to face, particularly User:Pharos.  From Fall 2008 to Summer 2010, my primary account was User:AFriedman.  I have retired an account named after Jacob Frank, an 18th-century figure from Jewish history.  Enjoy my signature:  Jacob Frank  purification through transgression.  Yes, he actually said that whenever one sees a boundary, one should transgress it.  There are times when the result is delightful&mdash;my kind of Wikifauna crosses the great divide between land and water, becoming a creature of both.  Here is the story behind the Jacob Frank account.

For New Users
Welcome to Wikipedia and Happy Editing! If you're not sure how to edit or just want to learn more, this free workshop on a related site called WikiEducator will teach you the ropes and connect you with some of the friendliest and most enthusiastic people in the wiki world. It's regularly offered as an online course, which I took back when I was a novice user.

My Research Projects
Details about studying these disciplines and discussing the projects with me are on my Wikiversity userpage. Or, I am responsive to email and to posts on my Wikipedia Talk page.

Active

 * G-Protein Coupled Receptor Gene Duplication Project - computational analysis of databases

Less Active

 * Echinoderm Nervous System Evolution Project - laboratory techniques

Essays Under Revision

 * An essay about self-organization and its role in the evolution of complexity, currently formulated as a course
 * How the theories of the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis should be reformulated for today's evolutionary biologists

Judaism as Legend, Powered by Thought and Inspired by Memory...
I am also involved with editing articles about Judaism and Jewish history. As an avid reader and a mythology buff who loves tales of little folk that beat the odds, I'm proud to be part of that particular story. If you're interested or just curious, go ahead and leave me a message. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite links about the topic:
 * Judaism 101: Plenty of basic information about Judaism
 * Jewish Holidays, from the Union for Reform Judaism
 * Section of the Torah (Pentateuch) that is read in synagogues this week
 * Jewish Virtual Library: More information about Jewish topics
 * Jews, God and History by Max I. Dimont: A bestselling book that provides an engaging introduction to Jewish history
 * Conversion to Judaism: Resources for those who are considering becoming full-fledged members of our tribe, and for Jews interested in outreach

...and spiced with antinomianism!
  Jacob Frank  purification through transgression was my alternate account, named after an 18th-century Jewish religious leader who promoted "redemption through sin." To quote Max I. Dimont, Jewish history is not only "replete with revered prophets, rabbis and scholars" but also has some of "the most magnificent psychos and crackpots, adventurers and charlatans the world has ever beheld." Please take the trouble to meet these colorful people (of both varieties). You may also want to see the article about Frankism, which I started.

I originally developed the JacobFrank Userpage for Wikiversity, as a sort of commentary on a particularly egregious incident of "ethical breaching experiments" there. Another User had created a Wikiversity page describing how, under the guise of research, he had added misinformation to a prominent page of Wikipedia. This event was reported in the Wikipedia Signpost, and Wikiversity's policies were changed accordingly. The attention the incident received, far greater than what us more lawfully-aligned editors bring to the site, led to a number of positive developments on Wikiversity. While I don't condone vandalism, including the deliberate spreading of misinformation, the incident made me wonder whether Jacob Frank's idea that repentance could overcompensate for wrongdoing was actually on the mark once in a while. Your positive contributions to Wikiversity, and mine, will help overcome the damage that was done.