>> Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopaedia created and updated entirely by its readers. It uses online software, called a ‘wiki’, to make it simple for many users to update any page and collaborate on its content. As the site explains, ‘Lots of people are constantly improving Wikipedia, making thousands of changes an hour, all of which are recorded on article histories and recent changes. Inappropriate changes are usually removed quickly, and repeat offenders can be blocked from editing.’
At least 2 500 new English articles are added to Wikipedia each day and there are already over 1 200 000 articles on the site.
I LOVE Wikipedia – I can think of many works of reference that are academic and massively comprehensive. Wikipedia is both those things, but uniquely it is also vibrant and exciting. No other encyclopaedia is able to reflect popular culture and current affairs with the same amount of detail as history, science, classical literature and geography.
Thus, along with entries on Socrates, the Spanish Inquisition, oestrogen and The Great Barrier Reef you’ll find articles on flea circuses, moonwalking and Finbarr Saunders and his Double Entendres. I’ve also found Wikipedia a particularly useful resource for beginners guides to some of my kids’ favourite TV shows from Pokemon to Sponge Bob Square Pants.
Because of the way the site is authored, there have been a few high profile examples of articles with inaccurate (and occasionally libellous) content. This serves as a useful reminder that you should never treat a Wikipedia article as gospel truth. That said, an investigation by the scientific journal Nature comparing the accuracy of Wikipedia’s scientific articles with those from Encylopaedia Britannica showed that Wikipedia was only slightly less reliable than its commercial competitor.
As long as you understand that Wikipedia is only as authoritative as its contributors, you’ll find a fantastic range of information on every imaginable subject.
This review was written for Website of the Day: The Book - still available from Amazon, BBC Shop and other online retailers.
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