Growing pains for Wikipedia

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Intellectual suicide.

"It is useless to judge the value of content. All information is equally valuable. All information equally aids one in making his decisions in life."

False. An informed opinion is always superior to an uninformed opinion. It is a matter of probabilibity in this instance. An informed opinion is far more likely to lead you to useful understanding. While all knowledge has some value, that value is not equal. Or even of value in the same way.

As an example. I might ask two people the same question. And they may give me an answer. One answer tells me something about the subject I asked about. The other answer, while still being on topic, tells me more about the person answering the question. The first is inherently more useful to the object at hand. While both provided information of value.

"People with varying opinions ensure their side is included if they have a true passion for the subject under scrutiny. You can be sure of it!"

There is little more frustrating than when the world has an unshakeable faith in a lie. And in this way, I find this answer a cop-out and it is exactly why Wikipedia (a resource I use frequently) gets flak from mainstream press. Passion about a topic and passion about dealing with people who think their uninformed opinion is just as valueable as an informed opinion are two different things. In instances of Wikipedia where 'passion' for a topic exists, you learn less of the topic and more of the people who were involved. Whether you're aware of it, or not.

Posted by: Zinoron   Posted on: 12/07/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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