I like Wiki and I do not understand the grumblings going on about it. I agreed with your earlier post that if it is not accurate, as NOTHING is 100% accurate anyway, info from another source can be used against it.
The only important point to remember (or remind others) is that Wiki is not some trump card on any subject. It is simply one resource. Thankfully it is easy for people online to get to and look up some data.
I do not agree that it cannot be used for debatable subjects. Highly detailed discussions of very recent info at another source may end up trumping stuff at a Wiki, but that does not mean that Wiki CANNOT have very good discussions of some topics and supply debate ending info. It will come down to the topic and people having the debate being reasonable in assessing whether the data is enough.
I might add that Wiki often contains links at the bottom, to more info on any subject being discussed.
I am responding to this post because it contained a link regarding Digital Universe, the supposed better version of Wiki, because it will be reviewed by "experts". While I don't want to totally put it down, I do think its funny that the guy putting it together (who was also a founder of Wiki) misses that he is appealing to a logical fallacy.
He is claiming it should be more trustworthy because reviewers will have PHDs, and actually uses the argument that "If you get operated on you'd rather trust a guy with an MD". Well yeah, but you know what? You also should go and get a second opinion, and sometimes it turns out people with PHDs ARE WRONG. Pasteur got nowhere for a long time because of this same type of educational/professional bias.
While describing its structure he uses the example of Global Warming as a topic. Well THAT ought to be interesing. Exactly which PHDs will be reviewing entries, the ones that agree with Global Warming (indeed advocates of it) or the ones that do not?
In the end I'll bet he finds he has to get reviewers for the reviewers. The end result of that chain being something much like Wiki.
(Nod to Phat... I liked the "Weakerpedia" name)
holmes
"...what a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.."(D. Bros)
™ Version 4.2
