WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.120 Welcome in. It's really fantastic to have you 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:05.379 with us for another deep dive. Absolutely. Really 00:00:05.379 --> 00:00:07.320 looking forward to this one. Yeah. And as your 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:10.619 host, I'm joined as always by our resident expert. 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:14.439 And you know, usually you hand us a pretty formidable 00:00:14.439 --> 00:00:17.359 stack of material right like a really dense research 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:20.000 paper or maybe an exhaustive biography exactly 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.280 a complex industry report something like that 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:25.940 and our job is to distill that massive mountain 00:00:25.940 --> 00:00:29.420 of text down into the core insights so you don't 00:00:29.420 --> 00:00:31.640 have to spend your entire weekend waiting through 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:34.200 it but today the mission is completely inverted 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:37.100 yeah it really is we are looking at what might 00:00:37.100 --> 00:00:39.920 honestly be the leanest source document we've 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:42.840 ever tackled on this show i mean it is an exercise 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:46.100 in extreme brevity. To say the least. The source 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:49.240 material sitting in front of us today is a single 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:52.979 Wikipedia disambiguation page, specifically the 00:00:52.979 --> 00:00:55.619 page for the Australian Imperial Force. And there's 00:00:55.619 --> 00:00:58.380 a pretty profound irony here for you as a listener. 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:00.840 Oh, for sure. Because you come to this deep dive, 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:02.780 because you want the shortcut, right? You want 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:05.900 to be well -informed, but you want to avoid information 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:08.280 overload. Right, you want the synthesis. Exactly. 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.760 Well, the document we are analyzing today contains 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:16.180 exactly two main bullet points. Two lines of 00:01:16.180 --> 00:01:18.439 actual historical content. Which is wild because 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:21.420 it forces us to approach the analysis entirely 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:23.920 differently. How so? Well, when you only have 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:28.560 two sentences, every single word, every date, 00:01:29.939 --> 00:01:33.060 even every formatting choice carries this immense 00:01:33.060 --> 00:01:34.939 amount of weight. We aren't really summarizing 00:01:34.939 --> 00:01:38.890 anymore. We're excavating, digging into the absolute 00:01:38.890 --> 00:01:41.069 foundation of the text because we're unpacking 00:01:41.069 --> 00:01:44.189 how a few really sparse lines of digital text 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:46.209 somehow managed to hold the boundaries of two 00:01:46.209 --> 00:01:48.590 of the most devastating global conflicts in human 00:01:48.590 --> 00:01:51.329 history. Right. And honestly, the entry point 00:01:51.329 --> 00:01:53.250 into this document is fascinating all on its 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:55.829 own. It really is. There's this specific kind 00:01:55.829 --> 00:01:57.790 of, I don't know, cognitive dissonance that comes 00:01:57.790 --> 00:02:00.170 with reading a disambiguation page. Yeah, it 00:02:00.170 --> 00:02:02.569 acts almost like a like a digital traffic cop 00:02:02.569 --> 00:02:05.349 for historical memory. A traffic cop. Exactly. 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:08.599 You type in one name and the system just holds 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:12.300 you. It forces you to actively choose which specific 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:14.800 era of global devastation you're actually looking 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:18.000 for. And the environment surrounding those two 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:21.340 bullet points creates this incredibly striking 00:02:21.340 --> 00:02:24.939 juxtaposition. Oh, the UI. Yes. Before you even 00:02:24.939 --> 00:02:27.419 parse the historical data, you're confronted 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:31.120 with the sort of clinical administrative architecture 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.639 of the modern internet. Which completely frames 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:36.520 the way we consume the past now. It does. I mean, 00:02:36.539 --> 00:02:38.620 you look at the margins of this document and 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:41.379 they are packed with mundane navigation tools 00:02:41.379 --> 00:02:43.900 that we interact with every single day without 00:02:43.900 --> 00:02:45.800 even thinking about it. Just everyday internet 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:47.699 housekeeping. Exactly. You have options to jump 00:02:47.699 --> 00:02:50.360 to current events or load a random article. And 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:52.400 there are these drop -down menus specifically 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:54.520 designed to adjust your viewing comfort. Right, 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:56.560 the display settings. Yeah, you can toggle on 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:58.860 a feature called birthday mode, which the system 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:02.919 also weirdly refers to as baby globe. Which is 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.479 such a surreal phrase to see there. Right. I 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:07.840 mean, it's currently disabled, but the sheer 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:11.300 fact that a baby globe mode shares screen space 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:14.659 with global warfare is incredibly jarring. It 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:18.099 really speaks to the, um... The flattening effect 00:03:18.099 --> 00:03:20.620 of the digital age. Flattening effect. Yeah. 00:03:20.819 --> 00:03:23.080 The medium neutralizes the message. You're looking 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:25.759 at this catalog of monumental human struggle, 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:28.400 but the platform treats it with the exact same 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:32.080 UX priority as, say, an article about a 90s sitcom. 00:03:32.259 --> 00:03:35.159 Wow. Yeah, that's exactly it. You have the option 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:38.319 to adjust the text size to standard or large. 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:40.580 You can switch the color theme from a daylight 00:03:40.580 --> 00:03:42.960 mode to a night dark mode. Right. You have these 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.699 heavy sobering realities, millions of lives, 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:48.419 totally redirected, entire continents reshaped, 00:03:48.659 --> 00:03:50.800 and they just sit neatly tucked within the sterile 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:52.789 framework. And right there, there are buttons 00:03:52.789 --> 00:03:55.629 prompting you to upload file or edit links. And 00:03:55.629 --> 00:03:58.729 a very prominent ever present plea to donate. 00:03:59.030 --> 00:04:01.750 Always. It is the ultimate administrative wrapper 00:04:01.750 --> 00:04:04.969 around a visceral ancient human experience. And 00:04:04.969 --> 00:04:06.900 it doesn't stop there. Right below the weight 00:04:06.900 --> 00:04:09.740 of the 20th century, the text helpfully reminds 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:12.479 you that this information is available under 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:15.520 the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:18.300 .0 license. Because by simply navigating to the 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:21.100 page, you're agreeing to the terms of use. It 00:04:21.100 --> 00:04:23.860 belongs to a nonprofit organization. It contains 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:26.839 hidden categories like short description is different 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:29.540 from Wikidata. That's just so clinical. It is. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.519 We are using tools designed to optimize screen 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:35.509 brightness and manage cookie preferences. to 00:04:35.509 --> 00:04:37.569 interface with the tragedy of the World Wars. 00:04:38.290 --> 00:04:40.410 And the interface gives you this sense of total 00:04:40.410 --> 00:04:43.850 control over the environment, adjusting fonts 00:04:43.850 --> 00:04:46.449 and colors. Meanwhile, you're discussing events 00:04:46.449 --> 00:04:48.949 where individuals had absolutely no control over 00:04:48.949 --> 00:04:51.730 their own terrifying environments. That sterile 00:04:51.730 --> 00:04:54.829 framing really makes the actual text of the bullet 00:04:54.829 --> 00:04:57.560 points hit even harder. when you finally focus 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:00.360 in on them. It creates a huge contrast. So let's 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.319 look at the first of the two options presented 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:04.899 at this digital crossroads. Let's do it. The 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:08.300 text reads, and I quote, first Australian imperial 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:11.420 force raised in 1914 to fight in World War One 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:15.879 and disbanded in 1921. 14 words. Just 14 words. 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:18.279 The scale of human effort compressed into that 00:05:18.279 --> 00:05:20.959 single sentence is difficult to fully conceptualize. 00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:23.439 The verbs alone carry so much implied weight. 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:25.699 I mean, look at the phrasing. The text doesn't 00:05:25.699 --> 00:05:28.720 say the force was formed or created. No, it uses 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:32.620 the word raised. Raised in 1914. That implies 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:35.240 an architectural, almost organic cultivation 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.399 from the ground up. You don't just draft a memo 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:39.579 and suddenly have an imperial force. Exactly. 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:42.819 Raised implies a total societal mobilization. 00:05:42.990 --> 00:05:45.889 It's the gathering of personnel, yes, but also 00:05:45.889 --> 00:05:48.269 the sudden creation of massive supply chains, 00:05:48.449 --> 00:05:51.009 the establishment of training protocols, the 00:05:51.009 --> 00:05:53.550 sudden redirection of national industry. It's 00:05:53.550 --> 00:05:56.410 the conjuring of a massive logistical leviathan 00:05:56.410 --> 00:05:58.930 strictly for a singular purpose. Which brings 00:05:58.930 --> 00:06:01.449 us to the dates bracketing that exact purpose. 00:06:01.589 --> 00:06:03.589 Right, let's talk about the dates. The text states 00:06:03.589 --> 00:06:06.470 it was raised in 1914 to fight in World War I. 00:06:06.670 --> 00:06:09.089 The cause and effect there are perfectly clear. 00:06:09.189 --> 00:06:11.629 The outbreak of the conflict necessitates the 00:06:11.629 --> 00:06:14.720 raising of the But the end point provided in 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:18.259 the text is 1921. Which is fascinating. The timeline 00:06:18.259 --> 00:06:20.800 extends significantly past the historical end 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:22.800 of the fighting. Because the guns of World War 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:26.160 I fell silent well before 1921. Long before. 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:29.240 Yet, according to the specific parameters of 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:32.959 this disambiguation page, the first Australian 00:06:32.959 --> 00:06:35.639 Imperial force continued to exist as a functional 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:38.100 entity for another three years. And that three 00:06:38.100 --> 00:06:41.139 -year gap really forces us to consider the logistical 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:44.300 tale of a global conflict. The text says it was 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:48.579 disbanded in 1921. If it takes a massive societal 00:06:48.579 --> 00:06:51.560 effort to raise an imperial force, the text implies 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:54.240 it takes years of meticulous administrative effort 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:56.920 to undo it. Absolutely. Dismantling a war machine 00:06:56.920 --> 00:06:59.180 is arguably as complex as building one. Yeah, 00:06:59.300 --> 00:07:01.319 you don't just flip a switch. No, not at all. 00:07:01.699 --> 00:07:05.000 That gap between the armistice and 1921 represents 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:08.500 the unglamorous, totally unseen reality of conflict. 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:11.300 The bureaucracy of it. Exactly. It's the slow, 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:15.060 agonizing process of repatriation. It's the cataloging 00:07:15.060 --> 00:07:17.680 of decommissioned equipment, the complex administration 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:20.339 of medical care and pensions. The physical returning 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:22.379 of hundreds of thousands of individuals from 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:25.079 a theater of war back into a civilian economy. 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:27.319 It's staggering when you think about it. It's 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:30.180 the bureaucracy of winding down a temporary society. 00:07:30.579 --> 00:07:33.120 You build this pop -up city of millions of people, 00:07:33.459 --> 00:07:36.500 you hurl it at a catastrophic event, and then 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:38.639 you have to deconstruct it piece by piece, ledger 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:41.279 by ledger. Right. The fighting stops, but the 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:44.579 entity itself lingers for years, processing its 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:47.420 own dissolution. Up until the final piece of 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:49.899 paperwork is filed in 1921, and it can officially 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:52.959 be declared disbanded. The administrative machinery 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.720 simply cannot stop on a dime. The momentum of 00:07:55.720 --> 00:07:58.540 an imperial force requires a massive runway just 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:01.540 to safely bring it to a halt. That single word 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:04.980 disbanded hides a multi -year logistical nightmare. 00:08:05.459 --> 00:08:07.500 And you would think that unwinding that colossal 00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:10.540 machine in 1921 would be the definitive end of 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:13.480 the concept. The societal cost, the administrative 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:15.939 burden. It seems like something a nation would 00:08:15.939 --> 00:08:17.920 really only endure once. You would certainly 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.660 hope so. But the disambiguation page doesn't 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:23.470 stop there. Immediately beneath the first entry 00:08:23.470 --> 00:08:25.850 is the second option at our digital crossroads. 00:08:26.050 --> 00:08:29.490 The second bullet point. Quote, second Australian 00:08:29.490 --> 00:08:32.929 Imperial force raised in 1939 to fight in World 00:08:32.929 --> 00:08:36.950 War II and ceasing to exist in 1947. So we see 00:08:36.950 --> 00:08:39.330 an identical structure mirroring the first bullet 00:08:39.330 --> 00:08:41.710 point, but the semantic variations are really 00:08:41.710 --> 00:08:44.169 striking here. The vocabulary shift at the end 00:08:44.169 --> 00:08:46.429 of the sentence is particularly jarring to me. 00:08:46.850 --> 00:08:48.830 In the first entry, the force was disbanded. 00:08:48.830 --> 00:08:51.370 Right. And that feels like a recognizable bureaucratic 00:08:51.370 --> 00:08:53.889 process. People pack up their equipment. The 00:08:53.889 --> 00:08:56.429 ledgers are closed. The organization is formally 00:08:56.429 --> 00:09:00.129 concluded. But the second AIF is described as 00:09:00.129 --> 00:09:03.850 ceasing to exist. It's a heavy phrase. Ceasing 00:09:03.850 --> 00:09:06.429 to exist is incredibly absolute to encounter 00:09:06.429 --> 00:09:08.850 in a dry reference database. It really is. It 00:09:08.850 --> 00:09:11.509 doesn't imply a reorganization or an absorption 00:09:11.509 --> 00:09:14.129 into a peacetime military structure. It implies 00:09:14.129 --> 00:09:16.769 a total erasure of the entity from reality. It 00:09:16.769 --> 00:09:18.750 sounds almost existential. Yeah. It highlights 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:20.750 the completely temporary nature of the endeavor. 00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:23.250 And when we look at the dates, we see the exact 00:09:23.250 --> 00:09:25.269 same logistical tale we noticed in the first 00:09:25.269 --> 00:09:28.230 entry. The exact same pattern. Is raised in 1939 00:09:28.230 --> 00:09:31.309 at the exact onset of the second global crisis. 00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:35.299 and it ceases to exist in 1947. Once again, the 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:37.600 timeline of the force stretches out long past 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:40.539 the conclusion of the actual combat. The pattern 00:09:40.539 --> 00:09:43.679 repeats itself perfectly. The global crisis triggers 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.220 the immediate conjuring of the apparatus. And 00:09:46.220 --> 00:09:49.159 the aftermath requires years of bureaucratic 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:51.460 unwinding before the entity can finally vanish. 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:54.259 The repetition is really what makes this single 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:57.120 page of text so profound. We're looking at a 00:09:57.120 --> 00:10:00.340 nation conjuring a staggering purpose -built 00:10:00.340 --> 00:10:03.330 military apparatus out of thin air. They build 00:10:03.330 --> 00:10:05.970 this colossal thing deployed across the globe, 00:10:06.370 --> 00:10:09.169 spend years painstakingly dismantling it until 00:10:09.169 --> 00:10:12.190 it is officially disbanded. And then a mere 18 00:10:12.190 --> 00:10:14.690 years later, the world breaks again. And they 00:10:14.690 --> 00:10:17.809 have to recreate the exact same massive undertaking 00:10:17.809 --> 00:10:20.190 from scratch. They raise it again in 1939 and 00:10:20.190 --> 00:10:23.360 it ceases to exist again in 1947. The disambiguation 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:26.259 page reveals this immense societal willingness 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:28.879 to build and destroy an institution on a massive 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.659 scale repeatedly based entirely on the immediate 00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:33.799 needs of the globe. Which naturally leads us 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:35.960 to ask why this matters to you listening right 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:39.899 now. The so what factor. Exactly. Why spend this 00:10:39.899 --> 00:10:42.480 time analyzing the specific phrasing of a digital 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:45.340 menu separating two historical military units? 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:48.320 Because it forces a reevaluation of how we view 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.669 monumental human endeavors. In what way? Well, 00:10:51.909 --> 00:10:54.049 we tend to default to an assumption of permanence 00:10:54.049 --> 00:10:57.129 when we think about large institutions, especially 00:10:57.129 --> 00:11:00.450 military or governmental ones. We picture a standing 00:11:00.450 --> 00:11:03.110 monolith that simply scales up or down depending 00:11:03.110 --> 00:11:05.710 on the era. A continuous line stretching through 00:11:05.710 --> 00:11:09.289 history. Exactly. But the specific title, Australian 00:11:09.289 --> 00:11:11.720 Imperial Force, as defined by this database, 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:14.580 is not a continuous line. No, it's not. There 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:18.600 is no third AIF listed. There is no ongoing permanent 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:20.639 institution holding that name. It represents 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:23.220 the absolute ephemerality of even the most massive 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:26.039 efforts. It's a purpose -built monolith. It exists 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:28.480 strictly to weather a specific storm, and once 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:31.139 that storm has passed, the structure is deliberately 00:11:31.139 --> 00:11:33.860 and completely torn down. It challenges us to 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:36.159 think about how we compartmentalize generation 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.799 -defining efforts into these neat, closed brackets 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:44.139 of time. 1814 to 1921. 1839 to 1947. Millions 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:47.559 of human lives, economies redirected, the geopolitical 00:11:47.559 --> 00:11:50.879 map of the world rewritten, all contained entirely 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:53.679 within temporary pop -up institutions that are 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:55.899 fundamentally designed to eventually cease to 00:11:55.899 --> 00:11:58.220 exist. It really provides a lens through which 00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:01.179 we can view our own modern institutions. It makes 00:12:01.179 --> 00:12:03.539 you wonder which of the massive structures we 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:06.159 rely on today are actually permanent and which 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:09.159 are just temporary scaffolding built to survive 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:12.139 a specific era. Destined to be dismantled when 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:15.720 the context changes. It is a remarkable philosophical 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:18.960 takeaway. to pull from a web page that also offers 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:21.419 you the ability to view it in baby globe mode. 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:23.259 It comes right back to that. The contrast between 00:12:23.259 --> 00:12:25.759 the medium and the message remains the most persistent 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:28.379 theme of this source document. We navigate the 00:12:28.379 --> 00:12:30.580 deepest complexities of human history through 00:12:30.580 --> 00:12:33.720 the most mundane, standardized interfaces imaginable. 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:35.940 The friction between those two realities is where 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:38.279 the true insight lies. We started by looking 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:41.200 at an incredibly sparse digital crossroad. A 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.259 simple database mechanism designed to prevent 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:46.259 a user from confusing the 1914 force with the 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:50.500 1939 force. But by treating those few words with 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:53.840 intense scrutiny, we uncovered the hidden administrative 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:56.820 timelines of global conflict. We saw the multi 00:12:56.820 --> 00:12:58.840 -year logistical nightmare hiding behind the 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:02.720 word disbanded and the existential finality of 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.419 ceasing to exist. We identified a pattern of 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:08.080 a society building and burning down its own colossal 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.789 institutions on demand. And there is one final 00:13:10.789 --> 00:13:13.450 detail in this source document that merits your 00:13:13.450 --> 00:13:15.409 attention before we conclude. Oh, this part is 00:13:15.409 --> 00:13:17.610 brilliant. It is buried at the very bottom of 00:13:17.610 --> 00:13:20.850 the page, beneath the historical bullet points, 00:13:21.190 --> 00:13:23.470 beneath the Creative Commons licensing, tucked 00:13:23.470 --> 00:13:25.730 away in the digital footnotes. The metadata of 00:13:25.730 --> 00:13:28.169 the page itself. A single line of text. Quote, 00:13:28.370 --> 00:13:31.590 this page was last edited on 23 November 2017 00:13:31.590 --> 00:13:35.490 at 19 .12 UTC. The timestamp on historical memory. 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:37.879 Just consider the temporal distance there. Long 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:40.159 after the first AIF was officially disbanded 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:43.500 in 1921. Long after the second AIF ceased to 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:46.259 exist in 1947. Decades and decades later, in 00:13:46.259 --> 00:13:49.080 the waning weeks of 2017, an anonymous individual 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:52.100 logged onto this platform at 19 .12 universal 00:13:52.100 --> 00:13:54.379 time to make an edit. Someone performing the 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:56.379 quiet, meticulous work of digital gardening. 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.360 They are curating the memory of millions of people, 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:02.279 ensuring the database functions correctly, ensuring 00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:05.019 the formatting is standard, making sure the digital 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:07.720 traffic cop continues to direct modern learners 00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:10.940 to the correct historical tragedy. The institutions 00:14:10.940 --> 00:14:14.000 themselves ceased to exist nearly a century ago, 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:17.019 but the maintenance of their memory is an ongoing 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:20.690 active human endeavor. It is a profound realization. 00:14:21.009 --> 00:14:23.629 These massive earth -shattering forces are gone, 00:14:24.110 --> 00:14:26.789 but anonymous editors are still out there quietly 00:14:26.789 --> 00:14:29.590 sweeping the digital floors around their monuments. 00:14:29.929 --> 00:14:32.210 It leaves you with a really compelling question 00:14:32.210 --> 00:14:34.309 to consider as you step back into your own day. 00:14:34.529 --> 00:14:37.190 Think about the massive, complex, world -altering 00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:40.250 events that define our current era, the crises 00:14:40.250 --> 00:14:42.330 and the monumental efforts we are living through 00:14:42.330 --> 00:14:45.149 right now. How will the messy, expansive reality 00:14:45.149 --> 00:14:47.470 of our time be distilled by anonymous editors 00:14:47.470 --> 00:14:49.909 decades in the future? When someone lands on 00:14:49.909 --> 00:14:52.870 a disambiguation page in the year 2100, what 00:14:52.870 --> 00:14:55.629 will our closed brackets of time look like? How 00:14:55.629 --> 00:14:57.750 will the structures we consider permanent today 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:00.230 be summarized when they eventually cease to exist. 00:15:00.570 --> 00:15:03.149 It is a fascinating lens to apply to our own 00:15:03.149 --> 00:15:05.950 present moment. It really is. Thank you for joining 00:15:05.950 --> 00:15:08.350 us as we unpack the hidden depths of the leanest 00:15:08.350 --> 00:15:10.690 source document we've ever encountered. We will 00:15:10.690 --> 00:15:12.230 catch you on the next deep dive.