Fidei Defensor Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='Nihil Obstat' post='1929140' date='Jul 22 2009, 10:15 PM']I once spent an entire evening, which was three or four hours, linking through physics topics. Can't understand any of it, but quarks and black holes and further dimensions are SO COOL to read about. [/quote] That's usually what I do, too. I start in some medical or drug topic and move my way through.
CatherineM Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 I know Prose used to complain about getting into editing duels over NFP. I just think it is weird my husband is on there.
LouisvilleFan Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='Resurrexi' post='1929382' date='Jul 23 2009, 11:38 AM']Why bother editing what someone else will probably come along and re-edit in a few weeks?[/quote] This doesn't stop millions of other people from updating wikipedia on the topics on they care about. You need to abide by wikipedia's standards though, and learn to phrase things from a third-person academic stance so that it's seen as providing information rather than prosylezation.
homeschoolmom Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='Nihil Obstat' post='1929056' date='Jul 22 2009, 11:40 PM']I'd never use it for sources, but it's a good way to get a general idea on a topic, and springboard into legitimate sources.[/quote] I use it for non-research stuff... when a celebrity has died... What network was I Dream of Jeanie on? (NBC) etc. really nitpicky stuff. It's fast and usually pretty accurate on that stuff... and if it's not, it's not life or death to me. When I'm really board, I play a game I like to call Six Degrees of Wikipedia. I pick two seemingly unrelated topics (Mel Blanc and.... Love Canal for example) and see if I can get from one to the other by clicking on links within the articles.
Fidei Defensor Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 I tend to use it when I'm unsatisfied with the very general results I get elsewhere, when I'm looking for really detailed information on something--like how a certain drug is metabolized and what exactly happens.
Truth_Seeker Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 I agree with what someone said earlier - I think it's a great way to get general information. I would never directly use it for a paper, debate, etc, but some of the articles have great links to hard research.
CatherineM Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 One of my classmates last semester quoted from Wikipedia in her paper on Matthew. The only reason I know is because I got her critique. I'm a Catherine M, she was Christine M. The prof was perturbed.
Resurrexi Posted July 23, 2009 Author Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='CatherineM' post='1929708' date='Jul 23 2009, 03:44 PM']One of my classmates last semester quoted from Wikipedia in her paper on Matthew. The only reason I know is because I got her critique. I'm a Catherine M, she was Christine M. The prof was perturbed.[/quote] That would be sad if someone doing post-graduate education quoted from Wikipedia.
BG45 Posted July 23, 2009 Posted July 23, 2009 [quote name='Nihil Obstat' post='1929056' date='Jul 22 2009, 11:40 PM']I'd never use it for sources, but it's a good way to get a general idea on a topic, and springboard into legitimate sources.[/quote] Ditto. I automatically fail any of my courses if I cite Wikipedia. Funny enough, when at the MIT Press Store, one of their top sellers was a book on how to source Wikipedia.
goldenchild17 Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 [quote name='Resurrexi' post='1929040' date='Jul 22 2009, 10:37 PM'][/quote] generally positive. I would never have survived school (so far) if I didn't use it.
CatherineM Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 [quote name='Resurrexi' post='1929712' date='Jul 23 2009, 03:45 PM']That would be sad if someone doing post-graduate education quoted from Wikipedia.[/quote] Yeah, that's what I thought. I was surprised she got such a good grade, and was quite angry that he had accidentally sent her paper to me. It was a breach of her privacy, and she is a good friend of mine.
Nihil Obstat Posted July 25, 2009 Posted July 25, 2009 [quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1929515' date='Jul 23 2009, 12:28 PM']When I'm really board, I play a game I like to call Six Degrees of Wikipedia. I pick two seemingly unrelated topics (Mel Blanc and.... Love Canal for example) and see if I can get from one to the other by clicking on links within the articles.[/quote] Try racing your friends doing that.
truthfinder Posted July 26, 2009 Posted July 26, 2009 I generally use wikipedia as a springboard, as well. But one time I was writing an essay where you had to compare two websites, and then compare that to two books, someone had writen in wikipedia that the 1837 rebellion happened in 1822. (You can still find it in the edit or history tab, or whatever they call it.) Basically, it was the history faculty's way of saying use books, or we'll use them on you
ReinnieR Posted July 27, 2009 Posted July 27, 2009 [quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1929515' date='Jul 23 2009, 02:28 PM']I use it for non-research stuff... when a celebrity has died... What network was I Dream of Jeanie on? (NBC) etc. really nitpicky stuff. It's fast and usually pretty accurate on that stuff... and if it's not, it's not life or death to me.[/quote] lol i do the same thing
ReinnieR Posted July 27, 2009 Posted July 27, 2009 wapedia when mobile. (for those of us without a fancy phone)
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