Wiki - Shmiki

Mark Mirtchouk
I pledge my honor that I have abided by the Stevens Honor System

People used to be divided into two distinct groups: the ones who read a lot and knew the answers to most of the questions and the ones who never opened a book and were considered ignorant. Life was a snob's paradise: if you cannot answer questions-you don't belong in decent society.

Computers became a common denominator and equalizer. With couple of clicks, you get tons of answers to pretty much any question that puzzles you at any given moment. What was the name of an actor that played in the first silent movie? What is the function that converts text into proper case? Is it finally decided if Pluto is a planet or a star? How long is the equator? What's Kipling's strange first name? What are the best looking cakes for gamers? Any field of knowledge - instant solution to any query! If you search these questions on Wikipedia a phenomenon will happen. It will give you detailed replies with historical background, illustration, chronology, personal data, etc.

So what is the difference between real knowledge and Wiki-"knowledge"? My personal opinion is that a lot of websites including Wikipedia have unreliable information. At best, the information posted on websites is incomplete, and sometimes it is even totally false. The data published in books is routinely double and triple checked. Special people go to great distance to make sure that the info published is correct. Also, the spelling and grammar in professionally published books is intact. Editors check the language flow as well. Most importantly, physical books cannot be hacked by an unfriendly outside entity so the information cannot be changed after the book is published. Generations of people can use the same book as source of information and nothing will change in it. Any website can fall victim to cyber crimes as well as it could contain unchecked data from the very beginning.

I still remember how I was doing an assignment on a biography of an author of my choice. I chose Somerset Maugham because I liked his novels and plays. I got numerous biographies of the author from our local library. After finishing reading all those books from Somerset Maugham's friends and contemporaries, I realized that none of the juiciest stories have made it onto the World Wide Web. For example: a fun fact is that Maugham was a spy while on allegedly reporting assignment in Russia. First and foremost, he could have changed history if his reports were taken seriously by British government. Also another writer Ian Flemming was so impressed by Somerset Maugham's life, he created James Bond spy books based on his life story. I never found any of this information on the Internet and if I solely relied on Wikipedia, my essay would have lacked and I would have deprived myself and my classmates those very intriguing facts.

So in conclusion, I would like to reiterate that although wiki has fast answers and tons of facts, it is absolutely crucial to take internet based information with utmost caution. One should be adamant in checking all data and taking instantly obtained info with a grain of salt.