Thursday, February 16, 2006

Wikipedia: the Nature article

I think that the wiki medium can be very useful. And I am in general a fan of wikipedia. But the unquestioning devotion that many pay to wikipedia and other 'Web 2.0' sites alarms me. Thus do I turn to Nick Carr for a bit of sanity.
His latest piece is an analysis of the Nature article contrasting Encyclopedia Brittanica and Wikipedia, an article which, as he writes, has become something of a get-out-of-jail-free card for Wikipedia and its fans. Today, whenever someone raises questions about the encyclopedia's quality, the readymade retort is: "Nature says it's as good as Britannica."

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