Use Wikipedia ‘facts’ at your own risk

I’ve taken Wikipedia with a grain of iodized salt ever since I looked up the exact date the Titanic sank, only to find a pornographic photo.

Of course, that was long after one of my high school teachers based an entire class discussion on a questionable definition of a literary term he lifted from Wikipedia.

P.S.: Check Wikipedia for the origin of the phrase “grain of salt.”

Wikipedia is a starting point, but it’s not the final answer. The site says, “Do not rely upon any information found in Wikipedia without independent verification.”

Wait, can someone independently verify that for me?

Wikipedia is the fast food of reference material: You go there when nothing else is open (like a library), you don’t realize how much you’ve consumed until it’s too late and, if you eat enough of it, it will probably kill you.

Source: The Independent Florida Alligator

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 and is filed under Information Literacy, Search News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.