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An Analysis Of Wikipedia’s Principles Of Accuracy And Neutrality Found In The Article “Free Solo Climbing”

Wikipedia is a resource that consolidates supported evidence regarding a specific topic or idea to provide a consistent understanding. It is not a place intended to support the claims of unsubstantiated evidence, original research, or personal opinion. The standards set forth by Wikipedia dictate that any published article’s “content is determined by previously published information rather than the beliefs or experiences of its editors” and all articles require citation to support their claims. Wikipedia’s article entitled “Free Solo Climbing” fails Wikipedia’s standards because it doesn’t adhere to the principle of verifiability as it lacks the necessary citations to support its claims. It also lacks enough information to fully describe the topic. In this incomplete article, the lack of citations calls into question the article’s accuracy and neutrality.

In the beginning of the article, “Free Solo Climbing” makes its first unsupported claim stating, “Other reasons given [for climbing] are the intense concentration required and, for some, the adrenaline rush”. While I may I personally agree with the author in their speculation that free solo climbing would yield an adrenaline rush, speculation holds inadequate support to be regarded as fact. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine, an adrenaline rush is the “Colloquial phrase applied to the feeling of exhilaration and power often experienced in highly stressful or exciting situations”. Given that free solo climbing is an activity that has requires “cling[ing] to tiny bits of rock, small cracks, and fissures as [the climber] move[s] vertically up a wall several hundred or several thousand feet high. A single misstep or wrong move, and [the climber is] dead”, this theory that many climbers seek this dangerous experience for the “exhilaration” may seem logical, but Wikipedia is not the place for individual decisions defining logic but rather a place for supported facts. In order for this article to meet Wikipedia’s standards this claim would require an unbiased citation.

Furthermore, the Wikipedia article lacks the extensiveness necessary to fully encompass the activity that is free solo climbing. In the approximately 1000-word article, the author fails to mention the history of free climbing beyond examples of notable past climbs, and its evolution from different types of rock climbing. Ken Wilson’s “The Games Climbers Play” illustrates the progression of climbing and the different rules that govern each type. Wilson takes us through the different types of climbing, beginning at the least complex bouldering through five other climbing strategies culminating at what he termed “The super alpine game.” Based on the described rules “the super alpine game” is analogous to a free solo climb and finishing at the final game of climbing “the expedition game”

Wikipedia is a useful tool to consolidate information, but this article is an example of the flaws associated with a network that allows the common man to provide information regarding an article. Wikipedia’s “Free Solo Climbing” presents seemingly logical ideas but cannot be regarded as a perfectly accurate or neutral due to the lack of necessary citations. Furthermore, this article lacks the necessary extent of information to give the reader a full view of the concept of free solo climbing.

References 1.	Wikipedia Verifiability. Last modified September 9, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability 2.	Wikipedia Free Solo Climbing. Last modified September 9, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_solo_climbing 3.	Kent, Michael. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 4.	Johnson Scott C. The Daily Beast. July 15, 2012 http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/docview/1666810425?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=14667 5.	Wilson, Ken. The Games Climbers Play. London: Baton Wicks, 1992