Setting itself apart, Wikipedia focused on substantive content development instead of technology (Garber), providing a mass collection of organized and easily searchable information. Containing over 27 billion words in 40 million articles and written in 293 languages (Wikipedia), it has far surpassed any other traditional means of data presentation. This great success is based and relies on its users to add, edit, and delete articles, however it does not require users to provide proof or research before publishing. Whereas some are convinced that it’s a means of presenting facts, Robert McHenry, former editor of Encyclopedia Britannica, is blunt in asserting that the community-accretion process of Wikipedia is fundamentally incapable of rising to a high standard of excellence (Wikipedia Risks). Although Wikipedia provides expeditious access to vast amounts of knowledge, use as a thoroughfare between proper research and producing quality written works is questionable.
Centuries have passed, whereas man has sought a means to share their stories, some were factual whereas others were simply
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Still lacking the ability to present one-hundred percent factual information, Wikipedia has inadvertently provided many students and scholars with a false confidence in their research. You cannot be sure which information is accurate and which is not. Misinformation has a negative value; even if you get it for free, you've paid too much (Wikipedia Risks). Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, addresses this concern in an interview with Simon Waldman, while Scott John Hammond and Robert North Roberts wrote in their book, Campaigning for President in America, about the use of Wikipedia that exposes misuse of the
...second using the search engine, people lose their motivation to read and the attention to think about the answer. (Crovitz 353) In Plato’s Phaedrus, Greek philosopher Socrates claims that people who get information without proper instruction as ignorant since they only conceit of the answer instead of the wisdom to find out and understand the answer. (Carr 341) With such access to information, we do spread information and expand human knowledge in a rapid rate. However, we lose our creativity, intelligence and the spirit of inquiry.
Stories are a means of passing on information, acting as a medium to transport cultural heritage and customs forward into the future. In his essay titled "You'll Never Believe What Happened," King says that, "The truth about stories is that that's all we are” (King Essay 2). Contained within this statement is a powerful truth: without stories, a society transcending the limitations of time could not exist. Cultures might appear, but they would inevitably die away without a means of preservation. Subsequent generations would be tasked with creating language, customs, and moral laws, all from scratch. In a way, stories form the core of society's existence.
With one easy click on the search button, Google grants entry to a reservoir of information for our use. Carr acknowledges that the internet “has been a godsend to [him] as a writer” because of the ease of finding information rapidly (Carr 732). Before, he would spend days searching through lengthy articles for the same material. Thus, web-browsing proves that not only is the internet useful for finding relevant information, but it is a time-saving tool. In today’s gener...
1. Growing up we all heard stories. Different types of stories, some so realistic, we cling onto them farther into our lives. Stories let us see and even feel the world in different prespectives, and this is becuase of the writter or story teller. We learn, survive and entertain our selves using past experiences, which are in present shared as stories. This is why Roger Rosenblatt said, "We are a narrative species."
In Is Google Making Us Stupid, Nicholas Carr disputes that due to new digital tools, peoples’ ability to retain and acquire information has been negatively altered. Even though, we have information at our fingertips, we often don’t take the time to soak in all the information. Carr mentions Bruce Friedman, a blogger, who finds it extremely difficult to read a “longish article on the web” and to try to focus on the importance of the text holistically (Carr 316). This is an issue that many can relate even Carr knows that, “ the deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle (Carr 314). Additionally, media theorist Mcluhan describes the net as “chipping away [mental] capacity for concentration and contemplation” (Carr 315). In essences, Carr states that we are having less of an attention span and consequently, less patience for longer articles (Carr 314). Therefore, this affects media outlets such as magazines, newspapers, and other articles, because they must conform and shorten their texts to fit the status quo that people safely enjoy (Carr 321). In addition, the net forces people to be efficient, and so, causes people to “weaken [their] capacity for deep reading” (Carr 317). People are becoming more driven on how quick he or she has to do something rather than think why this text is important. As a consequence, Carr believes that we are starting to lose our ability to be critical readers and
As Wikipedia has become more and more popular with students, some professors have become increasingly concerned about the online, reader-produced encyclopedia. While plenty of professors have complained about the lack of accuracy or completeness of entries, and some have discouraged or tried to bar students from using it.
I think the main idea from the article “How Google, Wikipedia Have Changed Our Lives – For Better and Worse” who was written by Jennifer Woodard is how this generation of people rely entirely too much on the internet to find their answers for school and everyday life. When people used to research for information they were looking for they could spend hours in the library, reading countless books to find their answers and even find more then what they were looking for. Now when researching people are so used to finding out what they want to know it only takes seconds to type in in your phone and find on Google your answer. Learning before there was computers or google, you had to listen to the whole lecture to get an understanding of everything
The best thing about Wikipedia is that it concisely provides topic wise systematic information on every topic for ‘short and quick reference’ of the summary on our search topic, a distinguishable and easy to note introduction. We also credit it for providing information in a very systematic and orderly manner and is quite too detailed in providing information and pictures on an article. Wikipedia is a good source for starting with basic information as it gives a summary in the beginning that almost gives the reader an approximate knowledge of what he is reading.
Like the argument nature versus nurture, people have been telling stories for years, all the way back to the stone ages. Stories are the way people communicated the news and passed lessons from family
Carr, like many people, fear the possibility that Google and the Internet will affect knowledge itself when he reveals that “Maybe I’m just a worrywart” (326). But the Internet as every instrument, it requires to learn how to use it. A process that very likely will last decades and maybe longer, considering how insanely complex the instrument seems. Google and current’s technologies all have “drawing power”. The kind of power that continues to offer readers the ultimate diversity of mass communication. Technology’s needs grow with almost the same pace, human culture and civilization do. We can all agree that a vast number of people prefer to search something in Google rather than reading a book, but the essence remains the same, people
Now that we are living in an ever changing world, technology is viewed as the most resourceful tool in keeping up with the pace. Without the use of technology, communication would be limited to using mail for delivery and encyclopedias for research. Although technology has improved the way we communicate and find information for research, the information is not always valid. Unfortunately, for those of us who use the internet for shopping, research, or reading articles of personal interest the information is not treated the same as a your magazine or book. While such literature is reviewed by an editorial staff, internet literature or information can be published by anyone. In order to reap the full benefit of having the use of technology for any purpose, there are five basic criteria’s one must keep in mind as an evaluating tool for deciding whether or not the particular website is a reliable source for information.
Wikipedia is one of the most influential sources of information in the world, and I am proud to have contributed and improved a page within the comfort of a class
The new age of technology was born late last century in the form of the silicone chip. Since this early invention computers have progressed in leaps and bounds from the very basic early models to the now very complicated and very powerful computers of today. In between this growth the Internet developed into a mega market where billions of dollars are traded daily. It is a place where you can pretty much buy and sell anything you can think of. But with the development of such a powerful tool there are always going to be problems such as pornography, hackers, dodgy chat rooms and authenticity of information. But like with any argument you have to weigh up the good with the bad, the internet provides you with a wealth of information so that you can find out much on many different products, allows businesses to function so much more efficiently, there is also the availability of online learning.
The internet as we all know is probably the most useful resource known to man in this day of age. Not only is the internet easy to access its easy to use. Nearly everyone owns a computer and nearly all of which have access to the internet. But isn't that a good thing? Millions of people having the ability to access and share all the information anybody could ever want.
The use of the Internet has exploded in the past few decades, and the age of the user is swiftly declining as well (Greenfield, Patricia, and Zheng Yan). “The spread of Internet access has been described as nine times faster than that of radio, four times faster than the personal computer, and three times faster than television” (Shields, Margie, and Behrman 5). The Internet has woven itself into people’s daily lives and has really changed culture in numerous ways. It has helped make education more accessible, especially to those in developing countries. Specifically, it has brought life saving health practices and information to those who otherwise would have gone without it. Also, children who need extra help learning, like kids with special