Wikipedia: Can you trust the info?

[rjman_afan]

July 20, 2010 at 9:30 am; By Marc Saltzman

One of my ‘Tech Talk’ radio show listeners wrote in to ask me: “Can you trust the information you read on Wikipedia? My son wants to use the website as a source for a summer school report.”

The short answer? No.

Will he probably use Wikipedia throughout his academic life? Most certainly.

Wikipedia is like the Coles/Cliffs Notes of the 21st century — but with questionable accuracy at times.

Why do I say this? A “wiki,” such as the popular Wikipedia.org encyclopedia, is a website that allows anyone to create or edit content. Consider it a communal work-in-progress project that blurs the lines between surfer and publisher. As such, many teachers and professors won’t allow Wikipedia to be cited as a source for essays, book reports or other assignments. Despite that, many students frequent the site for quick, easy-to-read explanations on a wide range of subjects.

Educators often want students to research subjects written by professionals in that particular field, as opposed to online “armchair” experts, if you will. But with so many millions of Wikipedia.org visitors, many of whom make slight alterations and tweaks on entries, it could be argued the information is whittled down to the “truth” over time.

Plus, credible Wikipedia entries link to a myriad of bibliographical sources, often outlined in the Notes section at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, Wikipedia offers the following caveat: “This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.”

If students are going to use Wikipedia for a school paper, consider it only a starting point and be sure to cross-reference the information with other credible sources or encyclopedias. And always be sure your child credits all sources at the end of the paper.

Oh, and Sync readers might recall I’ve had a personal run-in with Wikipedia myself as someone (jokingly?) wrote “Marc Saltzman is one of the few openly gay technology columnists in mainstream media.” I read that to my wife. LOL.

Sync readers, be honest — how often do use Wikipedia and use them as “fact” for school or work?

[baboyes]

Though Liu Bei was outnumbered by Cao Cao's troops in the Xinye battle， Liu defeated Cao thanks to the smart tactic he had resorted to. Cao soon commanded an army of 500，000 to take his revenge. When Liu Bei and his force of 3，000 got to Dangyang County， they were stopped by Cao's troops. A bitter fight lasted until dawn and the Liu army narrowly managed to eLüde the chasing enemy.
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　　As day broke，wow power leveling General Zhao Yun discovered that Liu Bei's wife and son were missing. Zhao gathered 30 troops and fought his way back onto the battlefield to look for Liu's wife， Madam Mi， and son， A Dou. With the help of a middle-aged woman， Zhao Yun found Madam Mi and A Dou by the side of a dry well behind a collapsed wall. Madam Mi said： “A Dou is safe now with you， General. I'd rather die than encumber you.” When Zhao Yun was not looking her way， Madam Mi threw herself into the well. Suddenly， Cao troops came charging toward Zhao Yun. With tears in his eyes， Zhao Yun pushed down what remained of the collapsed wall to cover the dry well.
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He then held A Dou against his chest and rode his horse onward as hefoughtoffattackers. cheap aion kinahIt took Zhao Yun three rounds of combat to fight off the chasing enemy. At one point Zhao was engaged by General Zhang He and a unit of Cao's troops. Zhao and Zhang fought a dozen rounds and Zhao tried to break the siege. But Zhao Yun and his horse unexpectedly fell into a trap. Just as Zhang He charged to pierce Zhao Yun with his spear， Zhao's horse leapt out of the trap.
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Zhang He was taken aback by the sudden move and his horse backed off several gaits. flyff penyaZhao Yun fought Cao's generals and troops single-handedly. No one could get close to him. Cao Cao， who was watching the battle from a nearby hilltop， ordered that Zhao Yun be captured alive. Zhao Yun made the most of Cao's no-kill order and broke through the siege in the end. When he returned to his camp， Zhao Yun handed the young master to Liu Bei.
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At Cao Cao's instruction，maple story mesos Liu Bei was about to set off for a punitive expedition against Yuan Shu. Before he left， Liu Bei worried about the defence of Xuzhou City. When Zhang Fei volünteered to take the task， Liu said， “How can I feel assured， when you're so fond of drinking and after drinking you always flog your soldiers for no reason? And you're such a hot-tempered person and frequently you refuse to take advice.”
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He entrusted the task upon Zhang only after the latter's repeated entreatments and resolütions to mend his ways.flyff penya For safety， he left consultant Chen Deng to assist Zhang . One day Zhang invited his subordinate officers over. “My elder brother instructed me before he left to stay away from wine for fear I may fail my duties to guard the city. Let's have an final drinking party today， and starting from tomorrow， we will quit drinking and concentrate on the job .” With these words said， he began toasting everyone. When neither of his toasts was accepted by Cao Bao， Zhang flared up ， By then ， Zhang was already drunk. He had Cao flogged fifty times.
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After the party was over，flyff penya the resentful Cao sent one of his men to Lü Bu， the enemy general， asking him to attack the city that night while Zhang was drunk. Lü came with 500 horsemen. They successfully took the city. When Zhang woke up with a start， the city was gone. He fought his way out of the enemy troops and fled the city， leaving his elder brother's family behind. When he met Liu， he felt so shame-faced that he unsheathed his sword meaning to commit suicide， only to be stopped by his elder brother.

[safexiaoyi]

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On the other hand my present supervisor is the exact opposite, he has little time for work and quite a few rounds of golf in already this year. Steer clear of clenching the golf club sets as doing could throw the swing off just adequate to strike that ball at an incorrect angle. ishiner