Notability
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| + | [[Image:Mona_Lisa.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|'''''Mona Lisa''''', or '''''La Gioconda.''''' '''''(La Joconde)''''', is a [[16th century]] [[oil painting]] by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], and is one of the [[most famous paintings in the world]].]] | ||
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| - | In search of the nature of Wikipedia | ||
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| - | == The question of notability == | ||
| - | A topic has [[notability]] if it is known outside a narrow interest group or constituency, or should be because of its particular importance or impact. It is an extension of the notion of prominence for biographical articles. It differs, however, from fame and importance; while all articles on "famous" and "important" subjects are notable, not all notable subjects are famous or important. | + | '''Notability''' is the property of being worthy of notice, having [[fame]], or being considered to be of a high degree of [[interesting|interest]], [[significance]], or [[Distinction (social)|distinction]]. It also refers to the capacity to be such. Persons who are notable due to public responsibility, accomplishments, or, even, mere participation in the [[celebrity]] industry are said to have a public profile. |
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| + | == Aesthetic theory == | ||
| + | :''[[cultural significance]]'' | ||
| + | The concept arises in the philosophy of [[aesthetics]] regarding aesthetic appraisal. There are criticism of art galleries determining monetary valuation, or valuation so as to determine what or what not to display, being based on notability of the artist, rather than inherent quality of the art work. | ||
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| + | == Journalism and marketing == | ||
| + | Notability arises in decisions on coverage questions in [[journalism]]. Marketers and newspapers may try to create notability to create [[celebrity]], [[Celebrity|fame]], or [[notoriety|notoriety]], or to increase sales, as in the [[yellow press]]. | ||
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| + | == Notables as the privileged class == | ||
| + | The privileged class are sometimes called notables, when compared to peasants. | ||
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| + | == Wikipedia content == | ||
| + | :''[[Notability in Wikipedia]]'' | ||
| + | Notability of a subject determines which articles will be included or not at Wikipedia. In his book, ''[[The Wikipedia Revolution]]: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia'', [[Andrew Lih]] writes that notability is at the center of the debate as to what the world's greatest encyclopedia should be - | ||
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| + | :''"One faction believes Wikipedia should contain pretty much anything, as long as it’s factual and verifiable.... On the other side of the debate are the ‘deletionists’, although this somewhat unfairly characterizes their view in a destructive way. Some prefer the word ‘exclusionists’. This camp believes it is important to strictly determine not only whether something is factual, but whether it is notable, whether it is worthy of being included in the pantheon of human knowledge..... At the center of the debate is notability, which is where inclusionists and deletionists have their skirmishes. | ||
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| + | Emily Artinian compares this passage with [[Borges]]' ''[[The Library of Babel]]''. | ||
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| + | Persons wanting to delete an article on the grounds of non-notability are called [[deletionism|deletionists]]. Those not wanting to delete the article are called [[inclusionism|inclusionists]]. | ||
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| + | A team of [[computer scientist]]s at [[MIT]] and [[Rutgers University]] has used notability at Wikipedia to create a measure of hierarchy in a directed [[online social network]]. | ||
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| + | The number of hits from a search engine has been proposed as a measure of notability; Wikipedia does not recommend the use of Google's results. | ||
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| + | The number of [[citation]]s has been proposed as a measure of notability of a publication or author; the field of study is called [[citation analysis]]. | ||
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| + | Notability may be considered to be [[absolute|absolute]]ly [[Objectivity (philosophy)|objective]], e.g., inherently as the [[big bang]]; [[relativism|relatively]] objectively determinable using a [[Convention (norm)|convention]]al definition, which is [[subjectivity|subjectively]] determined by [[consensus]], e.g., an online encyclopedia consensus to consider all towns as being notable, no matter how small; or [[subjective experience|subjective]], such as a notably emotional day for an individual. | ||
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| + | == Using fallacious reasoning to confer notability== | ||
| + | [[Name dropping]] and [[argument by authority]] are examples of attempts to confer notability by associating the name of something notable with something else in an attempt to establish notability of that thing. | ||
| - | There is no official policy on notability. However, there are a number of consensual guidelines regarding notability within a limited subject field, such as for bands, for characters from fiction, and for websites – and some others are under development. See the template to the right. An article's failure to meet these suggested requirements is frequently used as an argument to delete said article on WP:AFD. | + | Conferring notability is related to [[transitive relation|transitivity]] and the [[syllogism]]. If all A's are notable, and x is an A, then x is notable is true by syllogism, but if A is notable, and x is an element of A, then x is not necessarily notable. If x is more notable than y, and y is more notable than z, then x is more notable than z, but if person x considers A to be notable, and A is a subset of B, then x does not necessarily consider B to be notable; an example of an [[intentional context]] in the [[paradox of the name relation]]. |
| + | == See also == | ||
| + | *[[fame]] | ||
| + | *[[influence]] | ||
| + | *[[significance]] | ||
| + | *[[importance]] | ||
| + | *[[Publication bias]] | ||
| + | *[[Wikipedia's notability criteria]] | ||
| - | Lack of notability is often designated by the phrase "non-notable" or the abbreviation "nn". Whenever using the term or its abbreviation, please explain briefly why you consider the subject to be not notable (e.g. "has written a book but it was never published"). | + | ; contrast |
| + | *[[obscurity]] | ||
| + | *[[insignificance]] | ||
| - | Although notability is not formal policy (and indeed the whole concept of notability is contentious), it is the opinion of some editors that this is what is meant by Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information (which is a formal policy). Many editors also believe that it is fair test of whether a subject has achieved sufficient external notice to ensure that it can be covered from a [[neutral point of view]] based on verifiable information from reliable sources, without straying into original research (all of which are formal policies). Failure to meet these criteria does not mean that a subject must not be included; meeting one or more of these criteria does not mean that a subject must be included. --[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Notability] [Jun 2006] | ||
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Notability is the property of being worthy of notice, having fame, or being considered to be of a high degree of interest, significance, or distinction. It also refers to the capacity to be such. Persons who are notable due to public responsibility, accomplishments, or, even, mere participation in the celebrity industry are said to have a public profile.
Contents |
Aesthetic theory
The concept arises in the philosophy of aesthetics regarding aesthetic appraisal. There are criticism of art galleries determining monetary valuation, or valuation so as to determine what or what not to display, being based on notability of the artist, rather than inherent quality of the art work.
Journalism and marketing
Notability arises in decisions on coverage questions in journalism. Marketers and newspapers may try to create notability to create celebrity, fame, or notoriety, or to increase sales, as in the yellow press.
Notables as the privileged class
The privileged class are sometimes called notables, when compared to peasants.
Wikipedia content
Notability of a subject determines which articles will be included or not at Wikipedia. In his book, The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia, Andrew Lih writes that notability is at the center of the debate as to what the world's greatest encyclopedia should be -
- "One faction believes Wikipedia should contain pretty much anything, as long as it’s factual and verifiable.... On the other side of the debate are the ‘deletionists’, although this somewhat unfairly characterizes their view in a destructive way. Some prefer the word ‘exclusionists’. This camp believes it is important to strictly determine not only whether something is factual, but whether it is notable, whether it is worthy of being included in the pantheon of human knowledge..... At the center of the debate is notability, which is where inclusionists and deletionists have their skirmishes.
Emily Artinian compares this passage with Borges' The Library of Babel.
Persons wanting to delete an article on the grounds of non-notability are called deletionists. Those not wanting to delete the article are called inclusionists.
A team of computer scientists at MIT and Rutgers University has used notability at Wikipedia to create a measure of hierarchy in a directed online social network.
The number of hits from a search engine has been proposed as a measure of notability; Wikipedia does not recommend the use of Google's results.
The number of citations has been proposed as a measure of notability of a publication or author; the field of study is called citation analysis.
Notability may be considered to be absolutely objective, e.g., inherently as the big bang; relatively objectively determinable using a conventional definition, which is subjectively determined by consensus, e.g., an online encyclopedia consensus to consider all towns as being notable, no matter how small; or subjective, such as a notably emotional day for an individual.
Using fallacious reasoning to confer notability
Name dropping and argument by authority are examples of attempts to confer notability by associating the name of something notable with something else in an attempt to establish notability of that thing.
Conferring notability is related to transitivity and the syllogism. If all A's are notable, and x is an A, then x is notable is true by syllogism, but if A is notable, and x is an element of A, then x is not necessarily notable. If x is more notable than y, and y is more notable than z, then x is more notable than z, but if person x considers A to be notable, and A is a subset of B, then x does not necessarily consider B to be notable; an example of an intentional context in the paradox of the name relation.
See also
- contrast
