wikipedia

Wikipedia. Everyone loves Wikipedia. I'm guilty of it myself; I'd start on one article then next thing you know, you have opened about eight links in new tabs, and you're on there for hours reading and you wonder how you wound up on Kevin Bacon after having started on Black Sabbath's Volume Four. The legitimacy of the articles have always been questioned, mainly because the content it easily edited by the public, and although people report inaccurate information to Wikipedia, sometimes it goes weeks without correction. And most of the content is great. About 70-75% of the content is good, but the 25% that is incorrect totals about a million articles. When you say there is a million articles with factual errors on Wikipedia, that is a problem. The online encyclopedia has been used by students from junior high to university, for business presentations or just to settle a bet with a friend. But with a million incorrect articles you have to question it a little bit. One professor at the University of Brighton (UK) has strictly banned freshmen from using Wikipedia (or Google for that matter) and wants them to stick to reading lists. Professor Brabazon says "Too many students don't use their brains enough. We need to bring back the important values of research and analysis." Other colleges stateside, such as University of Pennsylvania (Philly), University of California (LA), and Syracuse University (NY) have also banned Wikipedia. So, basically, if you are sitting around on you couch, drinking Pib and you want to see who guest starred in the episode of Fresh Prince you just watched, it'll be fine. Just don't use it to research your PhD.

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