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November 17, 2004

Wikithink

wikithink.jpgRobert McHenry, former Editor in Chief, the Encyclopædia Britannica, and author of How to Know (Booklocker.com, 2004) presents a critique of the Wikipedia under the title "The Faith-Based Encyclopedia" [1].

The fundamental question he poses is "How do we know it's correct." Unsaid, but left implied, is that when we use a real encyclopedia, we have someone vouch for the correctness.

Real experience with real encyclopedias, however, is not so simple. After all, each new edition advertises "new, improved, up-to-date." Somehow, this is a better place to put your faith.

Underlying the critique is a implied model of knowledge that seems to challenge the traditional authorities. Weinberger argued in his "Everything is Miscellaneous" [3] presentaion, knowledge is not a "thing" cast in concrete but is more like a conversation.

[1] [ Robert McHenry, "The Faith-Based Encyclopedia," TechCentralStation, November 15, 2004, http://www.techcentralstation.com/111504A.html

[3] See http://sjc.blog.uvm.edu/archives/2004/11/everything_is_m.html

Posted by sjc at November 17, 2004 8:59 AM

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