Wikinews. Wikiquote. Wiktionary. Best of all, Wikipedia. In case you're one of the three remaining University students who hasn't heard of Wikipedia, then let me fill you in. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia made for the people, by the people. In other words, it is a seemingly endless supply of information that can be read and edited for free by anybody in the world with Internet access.
"Wiki" comes from the Hawaiian word for "quick." In English, wiki has come to mean any Web site that can be openly edited and accessed by users around the web. Consequently, Wikipedia is not the only Web site that uses this format. You might have heard of "Urban Dictionary," a wiki that aims to define slang and sexual terms. Doing a little research will result in dozens of more wikis, from the Star Wars based "Wookiepedia," to "Stockepedia" for those looking for investment tips.
The prevalence of wikis is a huge step forward in the information age. Before computers were everywhere, people would actually have to buy dozens of thick encyclopedias or, worse yet, walk to the library if they ever needed information. Even in the '90s, before Google, people still had to order encyclopedias on CD, with static information which became outdated and were practically useless for current or recent events. Who else can remember having to upload Encarta '97 to get research for their middle school papers about Abraham Lincoln?
Thankfully, those years are behind us. Even though Google and I had some good times as it brought me plenty of interesting and useful information, it usually provided mixed results. That's why I quickly fell in love with Wikipedia, which has objective, reliable information about anything and everything.
In fact, on a number of occasions when studying for a test, I've referred to Wikipedia before even the book itself. When intimidating physics textbooks are just too hard to understand, nothing is better than an information-packed Wikipedia article on electromagnetic waves to get you started. Its articles give you concrete examples, definitions, explanations in laymen terms and even links to other Web sites if you need more.
My absolute favorite thing to do, however, is just to look up random topics and read about them whenever I'm in a curious mood. I mean, suppose you're watching TV and a commercial for GEICO comes on for the millionth time. You think to yourself, "What's the deal with this talking gecko anyway?" If you don't use Wikipedia, you'd probably unsuccessfully rummage for information on GEICO's Web site and finally resort to asking your friend about it only to hear, "How the hell should I know? Man, you ask such stupid questions." If you do use Wikipedia, you'd know by now that the gecko was created in 2000 during the Screen Actors Guild strike , which ruled out live actors. See the difference?
Recently, I decided to do my part in contributing to the ocean of information at Wikipedia, and I must say that the first time I actually edited a page and saw my changes instantly take place, available for everyone to see, I felt like I had written part of the constitution or even a verse in the Bible itself. On a side note, imagine if you could actually do that. WikiBible, anyone? (Excuse my blasphemy). Anyway, it felt great to add to the largest open encyclopedia in the world, even if my only major contributions were about fairly obscure basketball players.
The goal of Wikipedia is a noble one. As it simply states in its FAQ -- "Wikipedia exists to bring knowledge to everyone." In a world where many people have access to only censored or heavily biased information, if they have any access at all, Wikipedia and sites like it are a privilege I am very thankful for. Through peer review, responsible management, dedicated users and the principle of open-access on which it was founded, Wikipedia manages to provide varied and unbiased information as best it can. Ideally, one day everybody will have free access to whatever information they want. I'd imagine when or if that does happen, a lot of the problems and conflicts the world has now would be solved.
Now that you know all about Wikipedia, do yourself a favor and go check it out. There's just one thing ... I've been trying to find out about Cavman, but there's no page about him yet. Would somebody mind creating it?
Daniel can be reached at mcnally@cavalierdaily.com.
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