Alchemator
my god if you don't have an iced tea for me when i
The free, online encyclopedia Wikipedia celebrates its 10th birthday today. While the issues have come up countless times, questions regarding its reliability have been brought up with the recent media coverage noting its milestone age.
Wikipedia has often been criticised for unreliable and "oftentimes incorrect" information and, combined with the supposed ease of plagiarising the data, its most extreme critics say that Wikipedia is "dumbing down" society. They say that, due to the existence of Wikipedia, students no longer need to actually research and take in information while they do so, but copy and paste without a second thought.
Personally I use Wikipedia frequently, but I don't delude myself about it having perfect reliability. I find it useful for getting basics before moving on to more specialised sites that could have more useful and more in-depth information. I also think that the part about plagiarising is unfounded - it's easy for teachers and such to recognise what is written in bland 'Wiki-prose', so it's not like students will not be caught.
What are your thoughts on this?
Note: Please attempt serious discussion
Wikipedia has often been criticised for unreliable and "oftentimes incorrect" information and, combined with the supposed ease of plagiarising the data, its most extreme critics say that Wikipedia is "dumbing down" society. They say that, due to the existence of Wikipedia, students no longer need to actually research and take in information while they do so, but copy and paste without a second thought.
Personally I use Wikipedia frequently, but I don't delude myself about it having perfect reliability. I find it useful for getting basics before moving on to more specialised sites that could have more useful and more in-depth information. I also think that the part about plagiarising is unfounded - it's easy for teachers and such to recognise what is written in bland 'Wiki-prose', so it's not like students will not be caught.
What are your thoughts on this?
Note: Please attempt serious discussion