W2-2. The importance of understanding Wikipedia phenomenon


Wikipedia illustrates the democratization of knowledge. Today, anyone in the world can acquire, share and modify knowledge through Wikipedia. And this is done voluntarily, not for commercial purposes. This is an unprecedented phenomenon. To understand that, it is necessary to understand Wikipedia's unique culture.

It was interesting to see Wikipedia as a community. This explanation seems quite accurate. This is because there are very few websites that voluntarily gather many people with various ideas like Wikipedia. And I think understanding Wikipedia is very important for understanding the future of mankind. This is because Wikipedia has changed the perspective of knowledge and learning that has been around for thousands of years.

Now we can get quality knowledge if we only have devices and knowledge that can access the Internet. How was it? we had to buy an encyclopedia and it was inconvenient to find information. The Encyclopedia Britannica is priced at $ 1100. However, Wikipedia is free. The quality of information is also second to none of Britannica. Indeed, the science journal Nature's findings showed that Britannica and Wikipedia had similar accuracy.

The question I want to share is this. Wikipedia has successfully replaced existing encyclopedias. In fact, it did more than that. So, do we need an existing encyclopedia today? If necessary, why?

Comments

  1. Juhee ChaMarch 28, 2020 at 7:09 AM

    I think the form of our existing encyclopedia has developed is Wikipedia. It's the beginning of Wikipedia. It's only a change of form, but its principles seem to be the same. Many of the authors tried to make the encyclopedia, and it was made after several revisions. They think it's the same thing, only in the shape it appears to be. However, it is true that the use of encyclopedias is getting smaller. But since Wikipedia will replace the encyclopedia, I don't think the disappearance of the encyclopedia is a complete disappearance.

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  2. Dayoung Ryu 류다영March 29, 2020 at 1:40 AM

    I think Wikipedia might be considered as a good replacement of encyclopedia, but still there are some problems.
    Wikipedia is existed on web page. It's free, but still there are more people who can not access internet. You said encyclopedia is 1100 dollars, but what about computer, smartphone and tablet? These are some of tools for accessing internet and they could be more expensive than encyclopedia. But, to lent a encyclopedia, any one go to local library and read it. This is also free.

    I also agree that how digital Wiki is comfortable, but we still have to think about 'another side'. I like your view, and I'm sure there is same opinion with yours.

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