Almost Everything's "Just" Philosophy
While discussing the recent xkcd on purity, one of my colleagues suggested to me that pretty much every article on Wikipedia is based on philosophy. His conjecture can be summarised, “For almost any Wikipedia article, if you repeatedly click on the first unbracketed link of an article’s content, you will eventually end up on the Philosophy article”. He demonstrated this by testing the Physics article. Sure enough, after at least 10 clicks, the Philosophy article appeared on his screen.
Somewhat intrigued by this proposition, I decided to write a program to test it myself with random Wikipedia pages. My program would consist of a function which extracted the first non-bracketed link. This would then be used to build a function which determined whether a random page eventually led to philosophy. The program would then get a random sample of links with this function and determine the proportion which follow the conjecture.
The extracting function required me to parse Wikipedia’s HTML to find the first non-bracketed link of each article. Being the silly regex lover that I am, I thought I’d just write a simple regex, rather than deal with superfluous HTML libraries. However, the first <a> tag within the article body usually ended up coming from one of the various bits of non-article content like disambiguation links, tables of contents, and infoboxes. After I had mostly dealt with this, I discovered that Wikipedia’s infoboxes sometimes contain nested <table> tags. I realised yet again that regex was not the right tool to scrape HTML, and yes, I would have to use an HTML library.
I found a surprisingly unconvoluted library named Beautiful Soup and quickly got this working with a reasonable rate of success. After I’d obtained a list of links in the article, I returned the first one which was a Wikipedia article. Finally, I edited the function so that if a section header was referenced in the URL (like /wiki/Structure#Physical_structure), the first link would be taken from the content of the section. Failing that, the remaining article after the referenced section header would be used.
The other two functions were quite simple. I made a set of philosophy links, which initially contained just the philosophy article. I then populated a set of traversed links as the articles were traversed. Upon finding a page where the first link was a member of the philosophy links, I added the traversed links to the philosophy links and returned True. If a page’s first link referenced a link that had already been traversed (forming a loop), the function returned False. Finally, if a page was encountered that did not have any links to Wikipedia articles, the function also returned False.
After running my program with a sample size of 100, I noticed a specific error occasionally coming up. The great majority of links in Wikipedia articles linked to articles that existed, but some referenced a section that didn’t actually exist. For example, Power Rangers linked to /wiki/List_of_longest-running_United_States_television_series#16-19_years, resulting in the section not being found.
Consequently, I modified the program so that instead of crashing if it couldn’t find a section, it would just take the first link of the whole article. Perhaps a section link checker would make a useful Wikipedia bot. Anyway, with this modification, my program finally checked the whole 100 articles successfully, printing the following output:
Trial 1
---------
Random URL: /wiki/Annie_Funk
Checking /wiki/United_States
Checking /wiki/Federal_republic
Checking /wiki/Federation
Checking /wiki/Political_union
Checking /wiki/State_(polity)
Checking /wiki/Community
Checking /wiki/Level_of_analysis#Meso-level
Checking /wiki/Sample_population
Checking /wiki/Statistics
Checking /wiki/Data
Checking /wiki/Type%E2%80%93token_distinction
Checking /wiki/Philosophy
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 2
---------
Random URL: /wiki/Monks%27_Dyke_Tennyson_College
Checking /wiki/Coeducational
Checking /wiki/Single-sex_education
Checking /wiki/Education
Checking /wiki/Learning
Checking /wiki/Knowledge
Checking /wiki/Fact
Checking /wiki/Proof_(truth)
Checking /wiki/Necessity_and_sufficiency
Checking /wiki/Logic
Checking /wiki/Reasoning
Checking /wiki/Consciousness
Checking /wiki/Quality_(philosophy)
Checking /wiki/Property_(philosophy)
Checking /wiki/Modern_philosophy
Checking /wiki/Philosophy
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 3
---------
Random URL: /wiki/Jean_Schmit
Checking /wiki/Cycling
Checking /wiki/Bicycle
Checking /wiki/Human-powered_transport
Checking /wiki/Transport
Checking /wiki/Cargo
Checking /wiki/Good_(economics)
Checking /wiki/Economics
Checking /wiki/Social_science
Checking /wiki/Academic_discipline
Checking /wiki/Knowledge
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 4
---------
Random URL: /wiki/SS-Oberst-Gruppenf%C3%BChrer
Checking /wiki/Commissioned_officer
Checking /wiki/Armed_forces
Checking /wiki/Country
Checking /wiki/Political_geography
Checking /wiki/Human_geography
Checking /wiki/Geography
Checking /wiki/Earth
Checking /wiki/Planet
Checking /wiki/Astronomical_object
Checking /wiki/Entity
Checking /wiki/Abstraction
Checking /wiki/First_principle
Checking /wiki/Philosophy
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 5
---------
Random URL: /wiki/Gas_testing_examination
Checking /wiki/India
Checking /wiki/South_Asia
Checking /wiki/South
Checking /wiki/Noun
Checking /wiki/Part_of_speech
Checking /wiki/Grammar
Checking /wiki/Linguistics
Checking /wiki/Science
Checking /wiki/Knowledge
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 6
---------
Random URL: /wiki/Corticotropin-releasing_hormone_receptor_1
Checking /wiki/Protein
Checking /wiki/Biomolecule
Checking /wiki/Molecule
Checking /wiki/Atom
Checking /wiki/Matter
Checking /wiki/Rest_mass
Checking /wiki/Energy
Checking /wiki/Physics
Checking /wiki/Natural_science
Checking /wiki/Science
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 7
---------
Random URL: /wiki/Harry_Cunningham_Brodie
Checking /wiki/Liberal_Party_(UK)
Checking /wiki/Liberalism
Checking /wiki/Political_philosophy
Checking /wiki/Politics
Checking /wiki/Governance
Checking /wiki/Public-private_partnership
Checking /wiki/Private_sector
Checking /wiki/Profit_(accounting)
Checking /wiki/Accounting
Checking /wiki/Measurement
Checking /wiki/Mensural_notation
Checking /wiki/Polyphony
Checking /wiki/Music
Checking /wiki/Art
Checking /wiki/Human_behavior
Checking /wiki/Behavior
Checking /wiki/Organism
Checking /wiki/Biology
Checking /wiki/Natural_science
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 8
---------
Random URL: /wiki/James_Bevan_Bowen_(MP)
Checking /wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)
Checking /wiki/Centre-right
Checking /wiki/Right-wing_politics
Checking /wiki/Social_stratification
Checking /wiki/Sociology
Checking /wiki/Social_behavior
Checking /wiki/Physiology
Checking /wiki/Function_(biology)
Checking /wiki/Evolved
Checking /wiki/Heredity
Checking /wiki/Phenotypic_trait
Checking /wiki/Phenotype
Checking /wiki/Organism
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 9
---------
Random URL: /wiki/2007_European_Junior_Baseball_Championship
Checking /wiki/European_Junior_Baseball_Championship
Checking /wiki/Baseball
Checking /wiki/Bat-and-ball_game
Checking /wiki/Playing_field
Checking /wiki/British_English
Checking /wiki/English_language
Checking /wiki/West_Germanic_languages
Checking /wiki/Germanic_languages
Checking /wiki/Indo-European_languages
Checking /wiki/Language_family
Checking /wiki/Language
Checking /wiki/Human
Checking /wiki/Hominini
Checking /wiki/Tribe_(biology)
Checking /wiki/Biology
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 10
----------
Random URL: /wiki/This_Storm
Checking /wiki/Sonya_Kitchell
Checking /wiki/United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 11
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Hollyoaks_Later_(series_4)
Checking /wiki/Hollyoaks_Later
Checking /wiki/Channel_4
Checking /wiki/Public_service_broadcasting_in_the_United_Kingdom
Checking /wiki/BBC
Checking /wiki/Public_broadcasting
Checking /wiki/Radio
Checking /wiki/Wireless
Checking /wiki/Telecommunication
Checking /wiki/Communication
Checking /wiki/Information
Checking /wiki/Data
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 12
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Lowrider_(disambiguation)
Checking /wiki/Lowrider
Checking /wiki/Ground_clearance
Checking /wiki/Tire
Checking /wiki/Wheel
Checking /wiki/Bearing_(mechanical)
Checking /wiki/Machine_element
Checking /wiki/Machine
Checking /wiki/Tool
Checking /wiki/Matter
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 13
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Open-mid_central_unrounded_vowel
Checking /wiki/Vowel
Checking /wiki/Phonetics
Checking /wiki/Linguistics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 14
----------
Random URL: /wiki/George_May_Keim
Checking /wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
Checking /wiki/Two_party_system
Checking /wiki/Major_party
Checking /wiki/Political_party
Checking /wiki/Political_organisation
Checking /wiki/Organisation
Checking /wiki/Social
Checking /wiki/Organisms
Checking /wiki/Biology
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 15
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Francis_Parkman_House
Checking /wiki/National_Historic_Landmark
Checking /wiki/Building
Checking /wiki/Structure#Physical_structure
Checking /wiki/Engineering
Checking /wiki/Science
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 16
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Richard_Congress
Checking /wiki/President_of_the_United_States
Checking /wiki/Head_of_state
Checking /wiki/Sovereign_state
Checking /wiki/Centralized_government
Checking /wiki/Political_power
Checking /wiki/Social_science
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 17
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Phyllopod_bed
Checking /wiki/USNM
Checking /wiki/Natural_history
Checking /wiki/Research
Checking /wiki/Theorem
Checking /wiki/Mathematics
Checking /wiki/Quantity
Checking /wiki/Property_(philosophy)
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 18
----------
Random URL: /wiki/New_Croton_aqueduct
Checking /wiki/Old_Croton_aqueduct
Checking /wiki/New_York_City
Checking /wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population
Checking /wiki/Municipal_corporation
Checking /wiki/Local_government
Checking /wiki/Public_administration
Checking /wiki/Politics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 19
----------
Random URL: /wiki/1996_Toronto_Blue_Jays_season
Checking /wiki/Toronto_Blue_Jays
Checking /wiki/Professional_baseball
Checking /wiki/Baseball
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 20
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Douglas_Township,_Clay_County,_Iowa
Checking /wiki/Township_(United_States)
Checking /wiki/United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 21
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Keswick_Museum_and_Art_Gallery
Checking /wiki/Cumbria
Checking /wiki/Non-metropolitan_county
Checking /wiki/Metropolitan_and_non-metropolitan_counties_of_England
Checking /wiki/Subdivisions_of_England
Checking /wiki/England
Checking /wiki/Constituent_country
Checking /wiki/Country
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 22
----------
Random URL: /wiki/David_McGregor_(water_polo)
Checking /wiki/Great_Britain
Checking /wiki/Island
Checking /wiki/Continent
Checking /wiki/Landmass
Checking /wiki/Earth
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 23
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Montgey
Checking /wiki/Communes_of_France
Checking /wiki/Administrative_divisions
Checking /wiki/Country
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 24
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Christopher_Wiehl
Checking /wiki/United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 25
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Wonewoc
Checking /wiki/Wonewoc,_Wisconsin
Checking /wiki/Juneau_County,_Wisconsin
Checking /wiki/County_(United_States)
Checking /wiki/United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 26
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Escudilla_Mountain
Checking /wiki/Apache_County
Checking /wiki/U.S._state
Checking /wiki/United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 27
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Arguda
Checking /wiki/Lepidoptera
Checking /wiki/Order_(biology)
Checking /wiki/Biological_classification
Checking /wiki/Taxonomy_(biology)
Checking /wiki/Science
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 28
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Shilton_railway_station
Checking /wiki/Railway_station
Checking /wiki/Railway
Checking /wiki/Transport
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 29
----------
Random URL: /wiki/BZ20
Checking /wiki/Boy_band
Checking /wiki/Vocal_group
Checking /wiki/17:28
Checking /wiki/Boy_band
Not a philosophy link.
Trial 30
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Munkbrohamnen
Checking /wiki/Quay
Checking /wiki/Harbor
Checking /wiki/Ship
Checking /wiki/Buoyancy
Checking /wiki/Science
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 31
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Discant
Checking /wiki/Liturgy
Checking /wiki/Worship
Checking /wiki/Religion
Checking /wiki/Religious_studies
Checking /wiki/Secular
Checking /wiki/Religion
Not a philosophy link.
Trial 32
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Yuko_Moriguchi
Checking /wiki/Japan
Checking /wiki/Island_country
Checking /wiki/Country
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 33
----------
Random URL: /wiki/1971_San_Francisco_49ers_season
Checking /wiki/1971_NFL_season
Checking /wiki/Regular_season_(NFL)
Checking /wiki/National_Football_League
Checking /wiki/American_football
Checking /wiki/Team_sport
Checking /wiki/Sport
Checking /wiki/Competition
Checking /wiki/Biology
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 34
----------
Random URL: /wiki/The_Pictou_Highlanders
Checking /wiki/Infantry
Checking /wiki/Warfare
Checking /wiki/Politics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 35
----------
Random URL: /wiki/335th_Theater_Signal_Command_(United_States)
Skipping /w/index.php?title=359th_Theater_Tactical_Signal_Brigade_(TTSB)&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=324th_Expeditionary_Signal_Battalion_(ESB)&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=392d_Expeditionary_Signal_Battalion_(ESB)&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=982d_Combat_Camera_Company_(Airborne)&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=300th_Public_Affairs_Detachment&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=317th_Military_History_Detachment&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=45th_Military_History_Detachment&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=92nd_Chemical_Battalion&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=457th_Chemical_Battalion&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=485th_Chemical_Battalion&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=490th_Chemical_Battalion&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=450th_Chemical_Battalion&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=468th_Chemical_Battalion&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=472nd_Chemical_Battalion&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=94th_Chaplain_Detachment&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=505th_Theater_Tactical_Signal_Brigade_(TTSB)&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=98th_Expeditionary_Signal_Battalion_(ESB)&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=307th_Chemical_Company&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=308th_Chemical_Company&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=355th_Chemical_Company&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=374th_Chemical_Company&action=edit&redlink=1
Skipping /w/index.php?title=4th_Battlefield_Detachment&action=edit&redlink=1
Checking /wiki/11th_Signal_Brigade_(United_States)
Checking /wiki/United_States_Army
Checking /wiki/United_States_Armed_Forces
Checking /wiki/Armed_forces
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 36
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Jacques_Freitag
Checking /wiki/South_Africa
Checking /wiki/Africa
Checking /wiki/Continent
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 37
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Corvallis-Benton_County_Public_Library
Checking /wiki/Public_library
Checking /wiki/Library
Checking /wiki/Book
Checking /wiki/Ink
Checking /wiki/Liquid
Checking /wiki/State_of_matter#The_Four_Fundamental_States
Failed to find section The_Four_Fundamental_States.
Checking /wiki/Physics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 38
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Bulatov
Checking /wiki/Alexei_Bulatov
Checking /wiki/Ice_hockey
Checking /wiki/Ice_skating
Checking /wiki/Ice
Checking /wiki/Water
Checking /wiki/Chemical_compound
Checking /wiki/Chemical_substance
Checking /wiki/Chemistry
Checking /wiki/Physical_science
Checking /wiki/Physics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 39
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Pyramid_Hills
Checking /wiki/California_Coast_Ranges
Checking /wiki/California
Checking /wiki/U.S._State
Checking /wiki/United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 40
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Tischeria_ceanothi
Checking /wiki/Moth
Checking /wiki/Insect
Checking /wiki/Class_(biology)
Checking /wiki/Biological_classification
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 41
----------
Random URL: /wiki/United_States_Sports_Academy
Checking /wiki/Institution
Checking /wiki/Social_structure
Checking /wiki/Social_science
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 42
----------
Random URL: /wiki/HMS_Havock_(1893)
Checking /wiki/Havock_class_destroyer
Checking /wiki/Ship_class
Checking /wiki/Ship
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 43
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Ultraist_movement
Checking /wiki/Literature
Checking /wiki/Ordinary_language
Checking /wiki/Phrase
Checking /wiki/Word
Checking /wiki/Linguistics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 44
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Six_Degrees_(beverage)
Checking /wiki/Absinthe
Checking /wiki/Distillation
Checking /wiki/Separation_process
Checking /wiki/Chemistry
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 45
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Pinktoe_tarantula
Checking /wiki/Tarantula
Checking /wiki/Arachnid
Checking /wiki/Class_(biology)
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 46
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Milka_Bliznakov
Checking /wiki/Bulgaria
Checking /wiki/Southeast_Europe
Checking /wiki/Greece
Checking /wiki/Southern_Europe
Checking /wiki/Policy
Checking /wiki/Executive_order_(United_States)
Checking /wiki/President_of_the_United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 47
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Matte_Le%C3%A3o
Checking /wiki/The_Coca-Cola_Company
Checking /wiki/Multinational_corporation
Checking /wiki/Corporation
Checking /wiki/Separate_legal_entity
Checking /wiki/Legal_person
Checking /wiki/Legal_capacity
Checking /wiki/Natural_person
Checking /wiki/Jurisprudence
Checking /wiki/Education
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 48
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Chryseofusus_acherusius
Checking /wiki/Species
Checking /wiki/Biology
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 49
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Dominic_Johnson
Checking /wiki/St_Lucia
Checking /wiki/Sovereign_state
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 50
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Death_of_a_Hussy
Skipping /wiki/File:M._C._Beaton_-_Death_of_a_Hussy.jpeg
Checking /wiki/1990_in_literature
Checking /wiki/Anton_Chekhov
Checking /wiki/Dramaturge
Checking /wiki/Theatre
Checking /wiki/Fine_art
Checking /wiki/Art
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 51
----------
Random URL: /wiki/GIVE_Center_West
Checking /wiki/Gwinnett_County
Checking /wiki/County_(United_States)
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 52
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Colonization
Checking /wiki/Biogeography
Checking /wiki/Species
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 53
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Cruciada_%C3%AEmpotriva_comunismului
Checking /wiki/Romania
Checking /wiki/Danube
Checking /wiki/Central_and_Eastern_Europe
Checking /wiki/Central_Europe
Checking /wiki/Europe
Checking /wiki/Continent
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 54
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Armee-Abteilung_Woyrsch
Checking /wiki/Field_army
Checking /wiki/Military_formation
Checking /wiki/State_(polity)
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 55
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Lynsey_Askew
Checking /wiki/England
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 56
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Morton_Lucas
Checking /wiki/Sussex_County_Cricket_Club
Checking /wiki/Historic_counties_of_England
Checking /wiki/Normans
Checking /wiki/Normandy
Checking /wiki/France
Checking /wiki/Western_Europe
Checking /wiki/Europe
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 57
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Spindle_cell_carcinoma
Checking /wiki/Cancer
Checking /wiki/Malignancy
Checking /wiki/Tumor
Checking /wiki/Cell_(biology)
Checking /wiki/Life
Checking /wiki/Physical_body
Checking /wiki/Physics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 58
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Commission_of_array
Checking /wiki/Letters_patent
Checking /wiki/Legal_instrument
Checking /wiki/Law
Checking /wiki/System
Checking /wiki/Element_(mathematics)
Checking /wiki/Mathematics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 59
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Seasons_End_(album)
Checking /wiki/Marillion
Checking /wiki/British_rock
Checking /wiki/British_Invasion
Checking /wiki/Rock_music
Checking /wiki/Popular_music
Checking /wiki/Musical_genre
Checking /wiki/Music
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 60
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Timeline_of_Belgrade_history
Skipping http://www.beograd.rs/cms/view.php?id=201239
Checking None
Not a philosophy link.
Trial 61
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Masorti
Checking /wiki/Conservative_Judaism
Checking /wiki/Jewish_denominations
Checking /wiki/Jew
Checking /wiki/Nation
Checking /wiki/Culture
Checking /wiki/Classical_antiquity
Checking /wiki/History
Checking /wiki/George_Santayana
Checking /wiki/American_people
Checking /wiki/Americas
Checking /wiki/New_World
Checking /wiki/Western_Hemisphere
Checking /wiki/Geography
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 62
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Canadian_federal_election,_1965
Checking /wiki/Canadian_House_of_Commons
Checking /wiki/Parliament_of_Canada
Checking /wiki/Canadian_federalism
Checking /wiki/Canada
Checking /wiki/Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada
Checking /wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area
Checking /wiki/World
Checking /wiki/Human
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 63
----------
Random URL: /wiki/List_of_Scottish_monarchs
Checking /wiki/Head_of_state
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 64
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Yves_Leterme
Checking /wiki/Flemish_people
Checking /wiki/Germanic_peoples
Checking /wiki/Proto-Indo-Europeans
Checking /wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language
Checking /wiki/Linguistic_reconstruction
Checking /wiki/Attested_language
Checking /wiki/Linguistics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 65
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Reilly_and_Maloney
Skipping http://reillyandmaloney.com/
Checking None
Not a philosophy link.
Trial 66
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Texas_State_Highway_Loop_360
Checking /wiki/Loop_route
Checking /wiki/Road_transportation
Checking /wiki/Transport
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 67
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Lindauer_Allee_(Berlin_U-Bahn)
Checking /wiki/Berlin_U-Bahn
Checking /wiki/Rapid_transit
Checking /wiki/Public_transport
Checking /wiki/Passenger
Checking /wiki/Vehicle
Checking /wiki/Motion_(physics)
Checking /wiki/Physics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 68
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Hitler_Youth_knife
Checking /wiki/Knife
Checking /wiki/Blade
Checking /wiki/Tool
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 69
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Mizrah
Checking /wiki/Diaspora
Checking /wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade
Checking /wiki/Atlantic_Ocean
Checking /wiki/Ocean
Checking /wiki/World_Ocean
Checking /wiki/Ocean
Not a philosophy link.
Trial 70
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Neeta_Shah
Checking /wiki/India
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 71
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Philip_Magee
Checking /wiki/Ireland
Checking /wiki/Ulster_Scots_dialects
Checking /wiki/Scots_language
Checking /wiki/Germanic_languages
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 72
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Don_Caley
Checking /wiki/Canada
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 73
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Robert_Bodley
Checking /wiki/South_Africa
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 74
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Muscodor
Checking /wiki/Genus
Checking /wiki/Biology
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 75
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Rutherford_Township,_Martin_County,_Indiana
Checking /wiki/Civil_township
Checking /wiki/Local_government
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 76
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Children_of_Tsunami:_No_More_Tears
Checking /wiki/Short_film
Checking /wiki/Feature_film
Checking /wiki/Film
Checking /wiki/Phi_phenomenon
Checking /wiki/Phi
Skipping /wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key
Checking /wiki/Voiceless_bilabial_plosive
Checking /wiki/Consonant
Checking /wiki/Articulatory_phonetics
Checking /wiki/Phonetics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 77
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Cecil_Martin
Checking /wiki/American_football
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 78
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Random URL: /wiki/Cristian_Valenzuela
Checking /wiki/Congenital_glaucoma
Skipping /w/index.php?title=Corneal_edema&action=edit&redlink=1
Checking /wiki/Epiphora_(medicine)
Checking /wiki/Tears
Checking /wiki/Eye
Checking /wiki/Organ_(anatomy)
Checking /wiki/Biology
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 79
----------
Random URL: /wiki/The_Critics_Group
Checking /wiki/Ewan_MacColl
Checking /wiki/Folk_singer
Checking /wiki/Music
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 80
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Pro_Sport_Hockey
Checking /wiki/Japan
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 81
----------
Random URL: /wiki/List_of_major_power_stations_in_Hubei_province
Checking /wiki/Power_stations
Checking /wiki/Power_(physics)
Checking /wiki/Physics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 82
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Vince_Peart
Checking /wiki/Alston,_Cumbria
Checking /wiki/Cumbria
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 83
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Yonrico_Scott
Checking /wiki/United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 84
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Protein_Expression_and_Purification
Checking /wiki/Peer_review
Checking /wiki/Field_of_study
Checking /wiki/Knowledge
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 85
----------
Random URL: /wiki/John_B._Henderson
Checking /wiki/United_States_Senator
Checking /wiki/Bicameralism
Checking /wiki/Classical_antiquity
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 86
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Vitaliy_Sobko
Checking /wiki/Ukraine
Checking /wiki/Eastern_Europe
Checking /wiki/Europe
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 87
----------
Random URL: /wiki/List_of_state_leaders_in_87_BC
Checking /wiki/Head_of_state
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 88
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Donja_Toponica_(Prokuplje)
Checking /wiki/Village
Checking /wiki/Human_settlement
Checking /wiki/Statistics
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 89
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Melanomyinae
Checking /wiki/Calliphoridae
Checking /wiki/Family_(biology)
Checking /wiki/Biological_classification
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 90
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Coitus_interruptus
Checking /wiki/Sexual_intercourse
Checking /wiki/Pelvic_thrusting
Checking /wiki/Pelvis
Checking /wiki/Anatomy
Checking /wiki/Body_plan
Checking /wiki/Phylum
Checking /wiki/Taxonomic_rank
Checking /wiki/Biological_classification
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 91
----------
Random URL: /wiki/St._Mary%27s,_Colorado
Checking /wiki/Census-designated_place
Checking /wiki/Place_(United_States_Census_Bureau)
Checking /wiki/United_States_Census_Bureau
Checking /wiki/Federal_Statistical_System_of_the_United_States
Checking /wiki/Federal_government_of_the_united_states
Checking /wiki/Federal_government
Checking /wiki/Political_union
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 92
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_Islands
Checking /wiki/Island
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 93
----------
Random URL: /wiki/South_Korean_football_league_system
Checking /wiki/South_Korea
Checking /wiki/East_Asia
Checking /wiki/Subregion
Checking /wiki/Region
Checking /wiki/Geography
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 94
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Eanmund_of_Kent
Checking /wiki/King_of_Kent
Checking /wiki/Anglo-Saxons
Checking /wiki/Great_Britain
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 95
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Linwood_Boulevard_(Kansas_City,_Missouri)
Checking /wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri
Checking /wiki/United_States
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 96
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Marko_Martini%C4%87
Checking /wiki/Croatia
Checking /wiki/Parliamentary_republic
Checking /wiki/Republic
Checking /wiki/Form_of_government
Checking /wiki/State_(polity)
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 97
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Achille_Richard
Checking /wiki/Louis_Claude_Richard
Checking /wiki/France
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 98
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Twigg_Township,_Hamilton_County,_Illinois
Checking /wiki/Civil_township
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 99
----------
Random URL: /wiki/Lester_Orlebeck
Checking /wiki/Film_editor
Checking /wiki/Post-production
Checking /wiki/Filmmaking
Checking /wiki/Film
Found a philosophy link.
Trial 100
-----------
Random URL: /wiki/Broken_Down_in_Tiny_Pieces
Checking /wiki/Country_music
Checking /wiki/American_popular_music
Checking /wiki/Ragtime
Checking /wiki/Syncopation
Checking /wiki/Music
Found a philosophy link.
95 out of 100 random pages travelled to philosophy.
The aforementioned section problem occurred during this run in trial 37, due to Liquid linking to /wiki/State_of_matter#The_Four_Fundamental_States. You can also see from the output that the program encountered and skipped several links that were not Wikipedia articles. While it initially takes a while to find an article that links to philosophy, this process quickly speeds up as the program learns more philosophy links.
From the final output line, 95% of the random articles did in the end link to philosophy, which seems to support the conjecture quite strongly. Almost everything’s “just” philosophy.