Ignore all rules
Encyclopedia
"Ignore all rules" is a rule to set rules aside.
The stance of ignoring all rules is itself a rule, constituting a paradox
. A scholar on Immanuel Kant
's view of genius
states that this critic
al stance is accordingly transcended by the autonomy of genius: "Genius demonstrates its autonomy not by ignoring all rules, but by deriving the rules from itself."
A famous quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson
is "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
In 2001, Stephen King
made "ignore all rules" the second rule of reading in his autobiographical On Writing.
encyclopedia
, Wikipedia
. Its formulation is generally (emphasis in original), "If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia
, ignore it." Wikipedia has a tradition of treating rules skeptically, except for this rule. The philosophy or mantra
was championed by Larry Sanger
(a chief organizer of Wikipedia, 2001-2002), who made it the first of a set of site guidelines (but later rejected it); it continues to be disseminated by Jimmy Wales
(its community founder).
The stance of ignoring all rules is itself a rule, constituting a paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
. A scholar on Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
's view of genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
states that this critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
al stance is accordingly transcended by the autonomy of genius: "Genius demonstrates its autonomy not by ignoring all rules, but by deriving the rules from itself."
A famous quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
is "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
In 2001, Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
made "ignore all rules" the second rule of reading in his autobiographical On Writing.
At Wikipedia
"Ignore All Rules" is a "favorite" rule of the English-language open contentOpen content
Open content or OpenContent is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. The term evokes open source, which is a related concept in software....
encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
, Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
. Its formulation is generally (emphasis in original), "If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, ignore it." Wikipedia has a tradition of treating rules skeptically, except for this rule. The philosophy or mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
was championed by Larry Sanger
Larry Sanger
Lawrence Mark "Larry" Sanger is an American philosopher, co-founder of Wikipedia, and the founder of Citizendium....
(a chief organizer of Wikipedia, 2001-2002), who made it the first of a set of site guidelines (but later rejected it); it continues to be disseminated by Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....
(its community founder).