I Wikipede, therefore I am

Check out my last post. I have a link to the Wikipedia article on "eternal return." Think about it; even for as esoteric a topic as eternal recurrance, someone has written a Wikipedia article about it. And not even a passing mention, either, but a really good, thorough, accurate Wikipedia article.

Which leads me to a certain intellectual despair. "Behold, there is nothing new under the sun." For someone as identified with the intellect as I am, it is a core part of my self-image to believe that my mind has something to offer the world that is unique and special. And yet, I have to say that I have yet to find any topic on which I have an understanding sufficient to even contribute to a Wikipedia article, much less write one from scratch.

There is, of course, more to intellectual life than one's knowledge of a specific subject. One collective knowledge, and more importantly, the way that knowledge is applied to the world, is surely of greater import. But it does make you feel really, really small.