Oh young people ...

[blamebrampton]

I caught a news snippet while rushing to get dressed this morning. It was on the 10th anniversary of Wikipedia, and the journalist was interviewing a schoolboy who looked about 17. He told her that he used Wikipedia regularly and found it to be a good source. When the journalist asked him about the varying credibility and skill of Wikipedia contributors, he stared in wide-eyed horror.

After a moment, he replied, 'Well, I've only just found out about that. I thought that there was a central place it all came from where everything was checked! This is big news. I am going to have to think about this at length!'

Twelve hours later, I have nearly stopped giggling.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Eeeeeheeeheeee heee oh bless.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

At least he's found out before he went to university ;-)

[mrsquizzical.livejournal.com]

ha! poor pet! his world just fell apart. he doesn't even know what to believe any more!

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

You can believe everything on the internet, just don't believe a word those pesky reporters tell you!

hehehe

[mrsquizzical.livejournal.com]

hee!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

*Snort*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Although, suddenly, the fact that Jeff Goldblum appears to never actually die despite frequent reports of same makes a lot more sense!

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha! Big news! *snorfles*8

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I have spent all day delighted at the giggling fit his teachers will have at this discovery.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

*snatches away that superfluous 8*

[cinnatart.livejournal.com]

I would say I'm surprised but I'm not. I used to edit university articles and thesis papers that would cite Wiki. I wish I were kidding.

[drgaellon]

Our University academic code forbids Wikipedia as a source. (Hasn't stopped me from using it for the basics, though.)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

If you already know the answer, it can be all right as an aide memoire, and some pages link to good sites and are well resourced, but you need to know enough about a topic before you go there to know whether or not you are going somewhere useful or not. There should be a test to determine who can and can't be trusted to read Wiki (as well as edit it ;-)).

[cinnatart.livejournal.com]

Yeah I don't know if this Uni has or not, but I know if I were a professor I'd state it in the syllabus that anyone citing Wiki automatically fails.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

If they were on media studies, sociology, or open source networks, maybe ... but otherwise, ARGH!

[cinnatart.livejournal.com]

They weren't =D hahahahaha.

I love our shared outrage.

[winterthunder.livejournal.com]

Definitely seen that one. It's amazing, and really sad when you consider that 95% of the time, you can look up Wikipedia's citations and go straight to a legitimate source.

[cinnatart.livejournal.com]

THIS. I would hand them back and tell them I'd read it when they followed/used/cited the proper sources at the bottom of Wiki. It's amazing how many of them DON'T REALISE that they're there.

[knic26.livejournal.com]

Oh dear...

I used to tell my students that they could *start* with wiki, but just as a place to find basic info and branch out from there. If I ever had someone that sited wiki, I wouldn't accept the work.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I imagine his teachers have had that same conversation, but he's just assumed they were big meanies ;-)

[la-mariane.livejournal.com]

The upside of this situation is that teachers will never lack for work :D

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Nor editors ;-)

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

ROFLMAO

*headdesk*

ROFLMAO

*headdesk*


... you get the picture. :D

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Terrifyingly, Australia has one of the better-rated education systems in the Western world ...

[oncelikeshari.livejournal.com]

He's run to his friends to tell them that a manifold isn't a bloke who does origami! *LOL*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Bwahahaahahahahaha!

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

[This [child] needs additional citations for verification.]

[drgaellon]

Ha! Well played!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I knew I should have hit record ...

[drgaellon]

The funniest part (which clearly comes across in your narration) is the wide-eyed incredulity.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I did feel a bit sorry for him, it was clearly quite the shock!

[sassy-cissa.livejournal.com]

WHA??????

Wikipedia isn't a reliable source?? Oh tell me it's not true???

lolololol

Have to love the young...and worry for the future.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I had a journo who pointed out a Wiki page stating that Egyptian women painted their breasts with liquid gold to prove that she was right and I was wrong. I took it graciously from her, and then reminded her that gold melts at nearly 1000 degrees Celcius. She took the sheet of paper back, tore it up and tossed it in the recycling, declaring, 'Let us never speak of this again.'

[sassy-cissa.livejournal.com]

*winces at the mere thought*

That would certainly be beauty at any cost!

Yipes. *shakes head*

[teganscrush.livejournal.com]

It all spits out of a biiig computer somewhere and the information is 1000% correct with impeccable sources. :D

His reaction is awesome!

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

*face palms on behalf of humanity*

[embolinaoz.livejournal.com]

Well at least he's thinking now! :)

[nenne.livejournal.com]

I think such ignorance is a tiny bit adorable. To be so young and naive. :)

[why-am-i.livejournal.com]

Teehehehehe! Trufax, Wikipedia has them.

My friend does Calisthenics, and was amused to discover, according to Wikipedia, that she was the founder of the entire sport.

[(Anonymous)]

Well while a lot of people are chortling and sniggering here I think you need to think about this. It really depends on what you are researching. For example I had to do a uni assignment on the on-line response to the release of Halo 3. It was required that I use the Halo 3 wiki and the online comments from wikipedia to justify my comments about the online response. So I had to use wikipediea and comment on it.

There are also many other wiki's that are not wikipedeia that are set up for companies and for particular programs, events, situation etc where the information that they use is more up to date than books are because they change so often and where the wiki is more useful as a source than anything else.

So while I agree that wikipedia should not be used as a sole source and should not be used all the time there is a time and a place for it and sometimes wikipedia is the best place for information. It depends on what you are researching.

[tinofbeans.livejournal.com]

Sorry that was not meant to be anonymous.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Oops! Replied to your accidental anon ...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

You make a good point that there are some things Wiki does do well. Their popular culture pages are at once the most likely to be up to date and comprehensive and the most likely to contain hoax information or be opinionated, though. If it is used as a first point of information gathering, it can be great, but if people stop there, we end up with the regularly dead Jeff Goldblum syndrome.

Other Wikis that are not run from Wikipedia are a different beast and there are several quite good ones, I agree with you there.

[wivern.livejournal.com]

We're doomed! *g*