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Is Wikipedia A Useful Resource?

#1 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Cspace {lang:icon}

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Posted 16 September 2008 - 08:40 PM

What do you think?

I think people are unnecessarily scared of it. bluetongue.gif
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#2 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Charlie {lang:icon}

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Posted 16 September 2008 - 08:42 PM

Well they have reason to be afraid of it sometimes bluetongue.gif There are times when I've looked up something and knew that the information was wrong. But really its very rare and usually obvious when something is bluetongue.gif
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#3 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Zoo {lang:icon}

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Posted 16 September 2008 - 09:45 PM

I've found some errors, pretty subtle ones too (check out the definition of natural selection. . . that's how people perceive it to work, but it's not quite right as stated; it also differs from 19 of 20 definitions returned by a google definition search, and that given in a textbook on evolution), but yeah, I think on the whole it's fairly reliable. I notice the mesoamerican archaeology/anthropology pages are particularly well done, apparently by an effort to coordinate work on that section. I think it's things like this, truly interested people working together to build a resource, that make it more reliable that many other internet resources (particularly those written by a single person with poor or incomplete understanding of the topic).

Obviously if you're doing serious research it should only be a starting point, just like any other encyclopedia -- I tend to use it to find terms I didn't already know, or interesting facts to verify -- but for a casual user the errors aren't a big deal.

And because of the nature of Wikipedia there are a lot of topics that wouldn't be covered by most normal encyclopedic resources (popular culture, for example). I couldn't care less about these things most of the time, but it's nice to have a place where the uninitiated can actually find information (web searches suck if you don't have a clue bluetongue.gif).
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#4 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Aaron {lang:icon}

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 08:39 PM

It's my friend. 'Nuff said.
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#5 {lang:macro__useroffline}   MA-53 {lang:icon}

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Posted 17 September 2008 - 10:08 PM

It's my personal opinion that after you get past all the jerks who mess things up just for the hell of it that wikipedia is one of the best resources for information available. As opposed to a book written by a single human, and, therefore, biased being, you have articles which are edited by hundreds of people constantly. In this way, when multiple opinions and biases are presented, it becomes a simple matter to deduce plain, logical fact. Since it is impossible to present information without bias, the best way to seek the truth is to digest as many biases as possible and find the facts by the wonderful process of elimination.

This parallels my thinking on government. I believe that the single reason the United States and other governments function is because there are so many people involved in policy and decision making that no one party's personal agenda can effectively be pursued more than another's. It's not that people aren't corrupt, it's that they're all corrupt towards different things, and their conflicting agendas conflict to the point that it's nearly impossible to make a grab for power.

ADDITION!

I once argued this point with my history teacher. He conceded my point about truth, but still marked me down a letter grade for using wikipedia as a source.
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#6 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Nuu™™ {lang:icon}

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Posted 04 October 2008 - 07:17 AM

Wikipedia is like a part of me now. It is like my right hand or something. Love it. I feel it better be regulated though, lest it becomes a hive mind...

Unless... it already has? _sure.gif

QUOTE (Mase @ Sep 18 2008, 08:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
This parallels my thinking on government. I believe that the single reason the United States and other governments function is because there are so many people involved in policy and decision making that no one party's personal agenda can effectively be pursued more than another's. It's not that people aren't corrupt, it's that they're all corrupt towards different things, and their conflicting agendas conflict to the point that it's nearly impossible to make a grab for power.


Yeah, they were engineered to be like that. A chap called Montesquieu invented the idea.
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#7 {lang:macro__useroffline}   x.. {lang:icon}

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Posted 04 October 2008 - 07:34 AM

Hell yeah.

Easy, free, quick homework.
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#8 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin {lang:icon}

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Posted 04 October 2008 - 01:58 PM

QUOTE (-Jordan @ Oct 4 2008, 08:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hell yeah.

Easy, free, quick homework.


That's exactly why teachers in my school hate it- often the guys copy & paste the info onto MS Word and print it out. Some people don't even take out the [edit] tags, ffs.

But, still, yes, Wikipedia is a useful resource, and as Charlie said, mistakes or vandalisms are often obvious.
(wyv btw)
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#9 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Bespetna {lang:icon}

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Posted 04 October 2008 - 05:20 PM

QUOTE (Wyvern.EXE @ Oct 4 2008, 09:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (-Jordan @ Oct 4 2008, 08:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hell yeah.

Easy, free, quick homework.


That's exactly why teachers in my school hate it- often the guys copy & paste the info onto MS Word and print it out. Some people don't even take out the [edit] tags, ffs.

But, still, yes, Wikipedia is a useful resource, and as Charlie said, mistakes or vandalisms are often obvious.

Thats how I did my auto tech class paper lol.

Yeah, I like wiki

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#10 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Owenskie {lang:icon}

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Posted 08 October 2008 - 01:24 AM

Anybody can freely edit wikipedia.. If I wanted to add that earth have 5 moons I can do it. So there must be someone who really screens all the info coming in for wikipedia to make everything accurate and true
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#11 {lang:macro__useroffline}   Jakethecheesepuff {lang:icon}

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Posted 08 October 2008 - 06:09 PM

Wikipedia is reasonably good, but i used websites that are specialised in the subject (anything in google that ain't wikipedia)
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