It boasts: "Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit."
Every time you submit a google search, you will find a Wikipedia article on the subject. I'm sure students everywhere are using this online wealth of information to do their research projects, I'm just not convinced of it's truths. Let's start with defining encyclopedia. Growing up, I remember an encyclopedia being the 20-some books containing articles on everything. From lists of past presidents and historical events to explaining how volcanos work and how potatos are harvested. Every research paper started at the encyclopedia. The American Heritage Dictionary next to me defines an encyclopedia a a reference work containing articles on a wide range of subjects or on numerious aspects of a field, usually arranged alphabetically. I guess Wikipedia passes that test... it is a range of articles on various subjects. I just don't know how factual it is.
On their information page, they advise that "You do not need to fear accidentally damaging Wikipedia when you add or improve information, as other editors are always around to advise or correct obvious errors." They also state that "In particular, older articles tend to be more comprehensive and balanced, while newer articles may still contain significant misinformation, unencyclopedic content, or vandalism." So they put the caveat right there. Don't always trust it. Then why do we?
We are a microwave society that is looking for the quick fix, the easy answer, and the google search to find facts. As many wonderful things as the internet has done for information flow around the world (or at least the developed countries... and those with the income to utilize it and the know how to find what they are looking for, but that's another post in and of itself), it has done the same for mis-information flow.
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