User blog:Thatsnotababyshow/Arthur: How assumptions and lack of knowledge caused an error that wasn't discovered for almost 2 decades

When Arthur started in 1996, I wasn't alive yet. My sister was too young to remember and obviously my parents didn't really care because they didn't grow up with the Arthur franchise. Internet wasn't prelevant yet, and most people didn't even have computers. So, when Arthur aired on October 7th, 1996, there was really no way to record that information, but at the time, most were indifferent. They were going to end up forgetting anyway.

I remember I started watching Arthur in Pre-K. After long, tired days at school, I would come home, watch it, and then take a nap. It was routine, and that's how Arthur became so relevant in my life. I remember watching season 10 episodes when they came out in 2006 on my parents bed, and wondering when my favorite show actually began to air. I remember in 2008 when I got my first computer I would go on the website, before its terrible redesign. I remember yearning for more and more information about Arthur. I always had a passion for learning and nothing was going to stop me from learning the most about my favorite show. Then I discovered Wikipedia, the rest of the internet, and eventually this wiki. That's where I got the notion of the original airdate being September 2nd, 1996. And of course, it stuck with me. After all, I was only 7 when I had my own access to the internet, so clearly I wasnt checking any sources. Anyways, I continued my life loving Arthur and having no questions about the original airdate, until a few days ago, when I noticed a discrepancy among the airdates said on wikipedia and this wiki. I ended up writing a blog about it and the awesome 5000 Explosions and a Supernova told me the not well-known truth about the real airdate, and even gave me some sources which I explored for myself. I wasn't here for the debate a few months ago about the airdate, which is why I was so severly uninformed So here I am today, on what I and most thought was the eve of the Arthur 20th anniversary, as a high school student, writing this blog.

Most people wouldn't care about a trivial thing like this, but it got me thinking. It was so easy for this to happen due to lack of technology and lack of memory. The false idea came from people assuming and bandwagoning with the idea that most PBS premieres happen on labor day. With an actual airdate so close to labor day and a clear lack of memory, the perfect breeding ground for a falsified piece of information was created. Since most people who watched the show either didn't remember or weren't alive yet, it was easy for them to assume that that was truth, and it ended up sticking for the next 20ish years. Thankfully, now we know the truth.

"How could we let this happen for so long?", you may wonder. Well it's pretty easy. Humans are pretty terrible at remembering things accurately because the more they try to remember, the more incorrect the memory becomes. There was also little to no technology to record the information on when the memory was fresh. Most people did not see the the Arthur website in 1996 to know the truth. And of course, because most people didn't remember, they made an assumption based on past known facts, which is a good skill but isn't always a good thing for accuracy. People ended up copying off of each other, and if something is out for long enough eithout being questioned, it is essentially fact. That's what ended up happening. This situation is obviously trivial compared to other things, but it makes me wonder. Since this went undiscovered for a long time despite Arthur being so popular, imagine what terrible things information caused like this caused. It honestly makes me shudder. This is part of the reason I joined the wiki. So as a group, people who enjoy Arthur could find accurate inforation and present it to others. We all have different sources and ways to find them, which increases diversity and decreases error risk. Without a doubt, we have vandalism, but we have a great team here to help lower it. Obviously, an (ideal) Arthur wiki won't shake up the world, but it's a great start and great example on what people should do to prevent something like this from happening again in any way, trivial or not: working together.

Respectfully,

thatsnotababyshow 15:29, September 1, 2016 (UTC)

A.N.- So I got the idea for this while I was sleeping, and then my alarm clock woke me, so I took it as a sign to write it. Sorry if it is boring or anti-climatic, I was never a good writer. However, I'm pretty proud I was able to conjure this up and I hope you, the reader, enjoyed it. Please leave your comments because I want to hear your thoughts.