User:BrooklynBen

Hello. I'm Ben.

I've been editing Wikipedia since 2010.

I have a great love of the product, as a frequent user. I've been a long time financial supporter of the Wikimedia Foundation, for about ten years, as I believe strongly in the model and its non-profit mission.

Over time, I've been lucky enough to work with a few "more significant" Wikipedia editors, and even worked directly with Katherine Maher a few times, as I was supporting the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, though Maher has since departed the organization.

My knowledge on specific Wikipedia topics is likely better than my technical skill set, so I have no problem if someone wishes to critique me in how I do citations or page structures. And please DO INDEED write to me or use my talk page to help me improve! Let me know if I'm not properly structuring pages or documenting correctly.

In my civilian life, I'm a dilettante, interested in many areas of modern life (and master of few). Here are topics on which you might find entries from me. Again, I welcome any and all folks who want to ask me or challenge me about specific topic areas.

Music I've been playing upright and electric bass since age 10. I've had the great fortune to be involved in recording projects with Branford Marsalis, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Joe Jackson, Deee-Lite, Frank London, and many more. I've always been on the technical side -- you will rarely hear me perform on a recording!

Education
I married a woman who founded and ran an educational non-profit for 25 years.

Cancer Care, Treatments, and Survivorship
Sadly, a family member was stricken with a terrible cancer. Fortunately, they are now alive and healthy.

Cooking

Cryptography
I can't tell you why I know so much about spycraft and cryptography, or....but I've studied it intensively. I was a young math nerd and liked puzzles, I guess.

Cycling

History

History of Science
This is one of my college degrees, kind of.

History of Vaccines
Sorry to any contrarians, but widely deployed Vaccinations are likely the second greatest technology in reducing pediatric death in the modern era, perhaps second behind the invention of sewers and separation of sewer systems from potable water supply chains.

Media

Music Technology
is a particular sweet spot. I worked at three of the earliest companies creating computer software for musicians. All of them are now gone.

New York City
The city of my youth.

Startups

Technology