Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Wikification of General Knowledge


The Expert and the Fan

The natures of the expert and the fan are debated…
Expert: You can’t write an article unless you are an expert.
Fan: And an expert is…
Expert: Someone who has passed muster. Done their time. Gone the distance. Looked into things. Reviewed the research. In other words, someone with formal qualifications.
Fan: Doesn’t an enthusiast or a fan do the same thing?
Expert: Difference is the expert can differentiate between the main points and the minutiae. Separate the chaff from the grain. See the wood through the trees. Fans can quote you dates and places. Experts can tell you the story.
Fan: So why did the Wikipedia fans push the Encyclopedia Britannica experts off the shelves?
___________
Voice-over
Much is made about expert opinion. Much is also made about the wisdom of collective intelligence. Both sides have a point.
EB articles were generally the responsibility of one expert. But when you have a collection of experts and fans, discussion can be more lively and offer a better perspective.
Short film: Wikification of General Knowledge at

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

120
Has Encyclopedia Britannica always been published in the same country?

A. No, it hasn't. Because the EB was bought by a group of American Businessman.

I sometimes use Wikipedia, but I don't know the Encyclopedia Britannica and Nupedia. Moreover, I don't know that there are more accurate encyclopedia than Wikipedia. Of course, I know there are some mistakes in Wikipedia. When I have to examine something, I try to use Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica.

Anonymous said...


133

7. What was the difference between Nupedia and Wikipedia?

A. Nupedia was organized top-down, in structured, peer-reviewed way.

Wikipedia has some mistakes because it's edited by amteurs.
So when we use Wikipedia, we need abilities to judge whether the information is the true.

126 said...

14. How should students and writers use Wikipedea?

A. They use Wikipedea as a gateway to a subject or to get an outline or to find references.

I occasionlly use Wikipedia to understand about some information I'd like to know. For example, unknown words or homework. Many people doubt that there is the true information in Wikipedia on the Internet, but acctually I think some people may use Wikipedia without worrying about that.

103 said...

Q1 What does encyclopedia mean?
A Encyclopedia means "general knowledge".

I could learn about encyclopedia's
history.And, I learned encyclopedia well.

122 said...

Q. What is the organizational difference between Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia?
A. In Wikipedia, it's a group collaboration effort.

I was surprised that the origin of word, "wiki" is Hawaiian.
Wikipedia is very useful. Because everybody can use and edit it. But, therefore it is important for us to judge information by ourself.

102 said...

Q.Does Encyclopedia Britanica still exist?
A.Yes.The Encyclopedia Britanica still exists as an online encyclopedia.

I didn't know that "wiki" means "quick".
I often use wikipedia when I want basic information.

Anonymous said...

109

what is Wikipedia and who founded it?

Wikipedia is collaborative encyclopedia and it was founded by Larry Sanger.

I always use Wikipedia when i search something but I haven't know that there were other encyclopedia.

111 said...

What recurring problems has Encyclopedia Britannica faced in its history?
There were two difficulties to publish.
Particularly during the great depression started in 1929, they had financial difficulties. And in 2010, it faced declining demand. But eventually it was published.

Anonymous said...

131
15.Cite one quotation by Jimmy Wales?

A.His original concept was to provide a free encyclopedia for everyone in the world.

I often use Wikipedia. I think Wikipedia's concept is wonderful. This web site is very useful, but people mustnot believe information in it completely, I think. University student also mustnot uses Wikipedia's information in a thesis.

Anonymous said...

107

12. Which is more accurate: Encyclopedia
Britannica or
Wikipedia?

A. Wikipedia is more acuurate because, according to the journal Nature, Wikipedia had average of 4 mistakes per article (even Encyclopedia Britannica had average of 3mistakes per article)


Comment:Wikipedia is just an refferences, so we don't believe that this is only the thing.
We have to have our own "media literacy".

Anonymous said...

106

Q,Name some other wiki ideas.
A,wictionary, wikimapia, wikileaks.

I often use wikipedia to check the background of famous person and other things. Wikipedia is useful for me. But i think informations by wikipedia are not necessarily correct.So we must use the wikipedia carefully.

Anonymous said...

134
How many contributing editors are registered as Wikipedians?

I can't find the answer...


I sometimes use wikipedia, but I don't know Wiki's other mean. So I am interested in it.
And by watching this movie, I could learn about Nupedia.

Anonymous said...

134
The answer is...
two editors.