User:Lawrencekhoo

Hi there!

Thanks for visiting my user page.

I've been sporadically contributing to Wikipedia since 2005. When editing, I like improving presentation and clarity, and making sure that pages are balanced and adequately represent mainstream academic thought.

Arbcom rulings have consistently upheld the principle that Wikipedia articles should first and foremost reflect mainstream science. See for example: Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and its content on scientific and quasi-scientific topics will primarily reflect current mainstream scientific consensus. Serious and respected encyclopedias and reference works are generally expected to provide overviews of scientific topics that are in line with respected scientific thought. Wikipedia aspires to be such a respected work.

Please also refer to Wikipedia's established policies about giving undue weight to pseudoscience and fringe theories.

If you have any questions about editing or about economics, please [ leave me a message] on my talk page.

--LK (talk)

Verifiability not Truth
It seems that many new contributors are confused about this, so it bears repeating here. Our standard for inclusion in Wikipedia is "Verifiability, not Truth". Facts and citations can be verified; 'truths' are often open to endless dispute. This principle has allowed a diverse community of editors to work together on Wikipedia to cover a wide spectrum of subjects including Global warming and Jesus of Nazareth, for which there is hardly a lack of dispute over 'truth'.

Wikipedia is not a forum to promote or educate people about neglected fields. Ideas and theories should not appear on Wikipedia until and unless citations can be provided that show that they have been published in reliable sources that are not self-published.

The following are accepted reliable sources (in order of reliability).
 * 1) Peer-reviewed journals and books published by university presses
 * 2) University-level textbooks
 * 3) Magazines, journals, and books published by respected publishing houses
 * 4) Mainstream newspapers

Another way to view the principle "verifiability, not truth", is to understand that we as editors, cannot judge what should or shouldn't be in this encyclopedia, and so we look to external authorities (academic journals, textbooks, major newspapers) to guide us. It's no use convincing me, or any of the other editors here on Wikipedia, of the truth of your position. Judgment of what should be in Wikipedia is deferred to external mainstream sources of information. This is one of the bedrock principles upon which Wikipedia is built.

As Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales puts it: