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User:Silence/V1b

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Key
  • 10 = Obvious inclusion on Core list.
  • 9 = Quite clear inclusion on Core list.
  • 8 = Another necessary inclusion.
  • 7 = Should probably be included, but not completely vital.
  • 6 = Possibly include, but this article is more marginal.
  • 5 = Close, but probably shouldn't be included.
  • 4 = Almost certainly shouldn't be included.
  • 3 = Very clearly not a core topic.
  • 2 = Not even close.
  • 1 = ... Is this a joke?
  • 0 = Barely even noteworthy, at best.

Assessment of relative essentialness of current "Core Topics" entries

[edit]
Article Rating Justification and notes Parent articles
Advertising 6 Fairly important topic in economics, but possibly not "Core". Marketing, Mass media
Africa 7 Articles for the continents are very important, but they may not all fit into a list of only 150. Continent
Agriculture 8 Essential to understanding human history and industry. Food, Technology
Aircraft 7 Parent article of the airplane (fixed-wing aircraft). Its aquatic counterpart is watercraft, a much less common term which complicates having consistent inclusion standards. See also spacecraft. Aviation, Transport, Vehicle
Algebra 6 Mathematics
Ancient history 6 Though very broad, this article probably isn't necessary alongside history, human history, anthropology, archaeology, etc. Archaeology, History
Animal 8 Major Kingdom of organisms, along with plant. Organism (Eukaryote)
Animation 6 Important aspect of film, but perhaps not quite "Core". Debatable. Film
Antarctica 6 Almost entirely unpopulated, thus less essential than the other continents despite its size. Continent
Anthropology 7 Essentially "the study of humans". Social sciences
Archaeology 6 A subset of anthropology. Anthropology
Architecture 8 Art, Technology
Arithmetic 6 More significant for its everyday and historical usage than for its role in mathematics. Mathematics
Art 10 Difficult to fairly deal with because of its numerous distinct and broad meanings, including skill (e.g. "martial arts, cooking arts"), visual art, and the arts. Culture
Asia 7 Articles for the continents are very important, but they may not all fit into a list of only 150. Continent
Astronomy 8 An extremely important scientific field, encompassing the study of all things outside of the Earth's atmosphere (including astrophysics and cosmology). Science (Natural sciences, Physical sciences)
Australia 5 Difficult to fairly rate due to its dual status as a country and a mini-continent. As a mini-continent, rates at about a 6; as a country, rates at about a 3. Since no other individual countries are included in the list, it may be more neutral and consistent to use some broader geographic equivalent (i.e. Oceania) in lieu of Australia. Continent, Country, Oceania
Automobile 8 Arguably more important than aircraft, due to its profound impact on daily life. Transport, Vehicle
Biology 8 Life, Science (Natural sciences)
Biotechnology 4 Biology, Technology
Boat 5 Extremely debatable inclusion, with strong potential arguments for both sides. Less important than ship, either way. Transport, Vehicle (Watercraft)
Botany 4 Tempting to include, but not really noteworthy enough, and doesn't have a counterpart in "scientific study of animals" to use. Biology, Plant
Buddhism 4 Too specific for inclusion in the top 150, despite being the 4th-largest world religion (after Hinduism). Religion
Business 7 Important Economics topic, but conceivably not "Core". Economics
Chemistry 8 Science (Natural sciences, Physical sciences)
Christianity 5 The largest religion in the world, but probably too specific to include in the top 150. Just because automobile is a "Core Topic" doesn't make the best-selling automobile one too. There are also major POV issues with including the largest religions in the list: no matter where we draw the line, those who barely missed the cut will be, rightly, upset. (Especially if we aren't consistent: we list Judaism, which has 15,000,000 practitioners, but exclude Shintoism, which has almost 70,000,000.) Religion
City 7 Important geo-political unit, and more ancient than units such as the state and nation. Consider also the town, village, etc. Geography, Society
Civilization 7 Though a major concept, part of its broadness is the result of it having so many distinct meanings, which may make it a mediocre candidate for "Core Topics" due to its ambiguity. History, Society
Climate 8 Confusingly, although "climate" encompasses weather, "climatology" doesn't include meteorology, the study of weather (see atmospheric sciences). Geography, Science (Earth sciences)
Clothing 8 Very important social topic, encompassing most of fashion. Culture, Fashion
Communication 8 Conceivably a 9, conceivably a 7. Behavior, Information, Society
Community 7 Conceivably an 8, conceivably a 6. Sociology
Computer 8 Revolutionary modern technology, currently comparable to automobiles in impact. Electronics, Technology (Information technology), Telecommunication
Computer science 6 Important field, but possibly not "Core"-level important. Computing/Computer, Information science
Country 7 Can refer to either a nation (cultural entity) or state (political entity). Geography, Politics
Crafts 5 More basic than important. Too vague for inclusion in the top 150. Art, Skill
Crime 6 Important subset of law, but might not quite meet the cut for the top 150. Less important (or at least basic) than evil, for example. Law
Culture 10 Society
Dance 7 Fairly important and universal art. Less important than music due to being a subset of the performing arts. Entertainment, Performing arts
Drawing 6 Debatable importance, as a specific type of visual art. Craft, Visual arts
Earth 10 Much more important than the other 7–8 planets in the Solar System, due to having life. Planet, Science (Earth sciences), Solar system
Earth sciences 5 As this article is more about a typology of scientific classification than about an aspect of the phenomenal world, its importance is dubious, and more based on categorizational utility than importance. For the same reason, including applied sciences, environmental science, information science, natural sciences, physical sciences, social sciences in the top 150 is debatable. It would probably be wiser to exclude most or all of those, and simply mention them in the science article itself rather than spending an entire top-150 article on the topic. Science
Ecology 6 In essence, "environmental biology". Biology, Earth sciences
Economics 8 Science (Social sciences), Society
Education 8 Science (Social sciences), Society
Electronics 7 Electromagnetism, Engineering, Technology
Employment 5 Economics, Labor
Energy 9 Very important and basic aspect of the physical world, moreso than even matter. Physics
Engineering 8 Science, Technology
English language 5 Not necessary to include in the top 150: too specific. Although English is the most widely-spoken second language in the world, and the most widely-distributed language, it is not of much historical importance compared to other major languages, and has only half as many speakers total as Chinese language. Focusing on this language alone may also worsen the Wikipedia's systemic Anglocentric bias (cf. Christianity). Language
Environment 9 A complex topic, involving many different basic concepts (including natural environment). Nature
Ethnic groups 5 A better name for this article would probably be "ethnicity". Culture, Demography
Europe 7 Articles for the continents are very important, but they may not all fit into a list of only 150. Continent
Family 8 Society
Festival 4 Comparable to Holiday. Culture, Entertainment
Fiction 6 Pretty important concept, akin to mythology. Entertainment
Film 7 A significant form of mass media, along with television, radio, magazines/newspapers and the Internet. Culture, Entertainment, Mass media, Performing arts
Finance 5 Important economic field, but pretty clearly not a Core Topic. Business, Economics, Money.
Food 9 Encompasses drinks as well. Culture, Health
Game 8 Essential aspect of human culture. Culture, Entertainment
Gender 6 The social equivalent of biological sex. Human sexuality, Social sciences
Geology 6 Science (Earth sciences)
Geography 7 Science (Earth sciences)
Geometry 6 Mathematics
Government 8 Politics
Health 8 Life, Science, Society
Hinduism 5 Too specific for inclusion in the top 150, despite being the 3rd-largest world religion (after Islam). Religion
History of the Earth 4 Not necessary in the top 150, for the same reason history of science isn't necessary even though science is level-10: the Earth article should cover the most important aspects of its history on its own. Also, including both history of the world and history of Earth on the list is inefficient use of space. (In fact, there's an argument to be made for including neither in the top 150.) Earth, History
History 10 Social sciences
History of the world 6 If it's going to be included on the list, it should most certainly be correctly-named, as Human history or History of humanity or similar. "The world", in this context, is an unencyclopedic, and extremely ambiguous, colloquialism. History
Hobbies 3 Entertainment
House 8 See also home. Architecture, Culture, Engineering
Human 10 See also person. Organism (Ape)
Humanities 6 Although suitably broad, this is a somewhat arbitrary, Eurocentric categorizational system, and may not merit inclusion in the "top 150" for the same reason liberal arts doesn't. Academia
Humour 8 Quite important for understanding human society and psychology. Culture, Entertainment
Industry 6 Probably not a good Core Topic. Business
Information 8 Very broad (even, unfortunately, vague) topic. None
Internet 7 Electronics, Mass media, Technology
Islam 5 Too specific for inclusion in the top 150, despite being the 2nd-largest world religion (after Chritsianity). Religion
Judaism 4 Too specific for inclusion in the top 150. Although historically important (like the much more diminished Zoroastrianism), Judaism has only 15 million adherents, making it significantly smaller than a number of religions that have never been considered for inclusion in

Core Topics, including Sikhism (23 million) and Shintoism (69 million). || Religion

Language 9 Very important topic, dramatically more so than Linguistics (which is merely the study of language). Communication, Culture, Technology
Law 8 Ethics, Government, Society
Leisure 3 Very unimportant, relative to a "Core Topics" list. Dramatically less important than labor, for example. Behavior, Freedom, Labor
Linguistics 6 Probably doesn't really fit on a list of the top 150; including language is sufficient. Anthropology, Language, Social sciences
Literature 7 Art, Culture, Document
Logic 7 Mathematics, Philosophy
Manufacturing 5 Industry, Technology
Map 5 Not basic enough. Cartography, Geography, Navigation
Mass media 7 Communication, Culture, Information, Society
Mathematics 10 Science
Mathematical proof 2 Extremely specialized and non-essential. Logic, Mathematics
Matter 8 Nature, Physics
Measurement 8 Metrology, Science
Medicine 8 Biology, Health
Middle Ages 4 A little too narrow to fit on the list, especially if historical periods like the Industrial Revolution and Prehistory are rejected. Also, although the term "Middle Ages" is a useful concept in general, it lends an unfortunate tinge of Eurocentrism to the Core Topics project. Europe, History
Mind 7 Brain, Metaphysics, Psychology
Mineral 6 Shouldn't be included if we exclude quite basic articles like metal, crystal and rock (not to mention oil, wood, plastic, water, etc.!). Crystal, Material, Mineralogy
Modern history 3 More an article about a certain historical typology than about an actual historical period itself, and thus inappropriate for a "top 150" list. A more concrete and significant term in modern history, like Industrial Revolution, would be more appropriate and useful, though including any specific historical periods at all probably isn't a good idea on such a limited list. History
Money 7 See also currency. Economics
Museums 2 Very clearly not sufficiently important. Culture, Entertainment, History, Recreation, Tourism
Music 9 Art, Entertainment, Sound
Mythology 7 Legend, Religion, Tradition
Natural disaster 6 Disaster, Nature
Nature 9 Environment
North America 7 Articles for the continents are very important, but they may not all fit into a list of only 150. Continent
Nuclear technology 4 Probably less essential than such topics as nuclear reaction, nuclear power and electromagnetism. Physics, Technology
Number 8 By analogy, it is necessary to consider whether letter, word, alphabet, etc. merit inclusion in the top 150. Mathematics
Oceanography 2 Hydrography, Hydrology, Ocean
Oceania 6 Continent
Optics 3 Electromagnetic radiation, Physics, Technology
Organisation 6 Society
Painting 6 Debatable importance, as a specific type of visual art. Visual arts
Park 4 Geography, Recreation, Tourism
Personal life 5 This is an extremely debatable page. "Personal life" really isn't considered by the vast majority of people to be a very basic or essential encyclopedic topic; the ubiquity of this classification on Wikipedia seems to be more the result of categorizational necessity than any inherent essentialness of the actual term. The topic may be fairly essential, but the specific term "personal life" isn't. Human, Person
Philosophy 7 Belief, Culture
Physical science 5 See earth sciences, above. Science
Physics 8 Science (Natural sciences, Physical sciences)
Plant 8 Major Kingdom of organisms, along with animal. Organism (Eukaryote)
Poetry 7 Literature
Politics 9 Ethics, Society
Popular culture 6 Debatable term. Culture
Publishing 2 Mass media
Psychology 7 Behavior, Social sciences
Race 7 Anthropology
Radio 7 Broadcasting, Culture, Electronics, Mass media, Sound, Telecommunication
Recreation 5 Behavior
Reference 3 Knowledge
Religion 9 Belief, Culture, Society
Science 10 Academia, Knowledge, Nature
Sculpture 7 Art (Plastic arts)
Sex 8 Biological reproduction, Genetics, Sexuality
Ship 6 Transport, Vehicle (Watercraft)
Football (soccer) 2 Sport
Social movements 5 Society, Sociology
Social sciences 5 See Earth sciences, above. Academia, Science, Society
Society 10 None.
Sociology 7 Social sciences, Society
Sound 9 Hearing, Waves
South America 7 Articles for the continents are very important, but they may not all fit into a list of only 150. Continent
Sports 8 Culture, Entertainment, Exercise, Game, Recreation
Statistics 6 Mathematics
Technology 10 Culture
Telecommunication 6 Communication, Electronics, Engineering
Television 7 Broadcasting, Culture, Electronics, Entertainment, Mass media, Telecommunications
Theatre 8 Entertainment, Performing arts
Theorem 5 Science
Time 10 Metrology, Nature, Physics
Tools 9 Technology
Tourism 5 Entertainment, Recreation
Toy 6 Child, Entertainment
Tradition 9 Culture
Train 6 Transport, Vehicle
Trigonometry 4 Calculus, Geometry
Universe 10 Cosmology, Environment
Visual arts 8 Art
Western civilization 5 Culture
War 9 Conflict, Politics, Violence
Weather 8 Meteorology, Nature

Assessment of relative essentialness of proposed "Core Topics" additions

[edit]

Assorted articles that have been proposed as possible additions to the "Core Topics" list.

Article Rating Justification and notes Parent articles
Adult 6 Family, Human development
Alphabet 7 Writing system
Atom 7 Matter, Physics
Bacteria 7 Organism (Prokaryote)
Beauty 6 Aesthetics
Chemical element 7 Article should include the periodic table of elements. Atom, Chemistry
Child 6 Family, Human development
Color 8 Light, Optics, Vision
Continent 7 Geography, Landform, Plate tectonics
Death 8 Life
Disease 6 Biology, Health, Medicine
Electricity 7 Electromagnetism
Emotion 8 Motivation, Psychology
Fire 8 Combustion
Force 7 Not to be confused with the fundamental interactions, another important physics topic. Physics
Fuel 7 Chemistry, Energy
Fungus 7 Organism (Eukaryote)
Glass 7 Material
Heat 8 Parent article of temperature. Energy, Thermodynamics
Infant 6 Family, Human development
Infinity 6 Mathematics, Philosophy, Theology
Light 9 Electromagnetic radiation, Optics
Love 8 Emotion, Human sexuality, Spirituality
Marriage 6 Courtship, Family, Society, Tradition
Mass 7 Matter
Metal 7 Material
Moon 6 Earth, Natural satellite
Motion (physics) 7 Mechanics
Mountain 6 Landform
Ocean 7 Geography, Water
Organism 7 Biology, Life
Paper 7 Material, Printing
Phase (matter) 7 Encompasses solid, liquid, gas and plasma (physics). Chemistry, Matter
Planet 7 Astronomy
Plastic 6 Material
Radiation 6 Wave
River 6 Geography, Water
Rock (geology) 6 Material
Sleep 8 Encompasses dream. Behavior
Speed 7 Motion (physics), Velocity
Star 8 Encompasses Sun. Astronomy
State 6 Politics
Transport 8 Society, Technology
Water 9 Material
Weapon 7 Security, War
Writing 8 Encompasses alphabet, book, etc. Linguistics