Wikipedia
Collective intelligence is something people have relied upon for a very long time. With the introduction of the Internet it has become all the easier to use our collective intelligence to answer questions and provide information for just about anything. However, with this free collective intelligence the question comes as to whether who or what people get their information from is a source or person who actually knows what they are talking about or just some kid messing around on the computer. If I were trying to diffuse a bomb I would probably want someone telling me how to do it that actually knew how or had done it themselves. No where is this question brought up more than for the web source Wikipedia.
Why is Wikipedia not considered a credible source for just about any serious writer? Is it the lack of accredidation or the fact that literally anyone can change anything they want on Wikipedia? An article in Le Monde Diplomatique address this issue by discussing that almost everything on Wikipedia is sighted to more reliable sources. The article also found that the average time for correction of blatantly wrong edits on pages was around three hours. However, the article acknowledges that does not discount that there are continual fallicies throughout Wikipedia especially on emotional issues and subjects.
An article in Journal of Computer Mediated Communications called Cultural Differences in Collaborative Authoring of Wikipedia also brings up the issue of culture and nationality having an effect on the content and tilt of articles in Wikipedia. However, this occurs in just about any credible or noncredible source. If one was to read a history book about American Independence that was written in America and then read one written in England the differences would become extremely apparent.
True, Wikipedia is not accredidated and therefore not considered a reliable source but soon it may eclipse traditional means of gaining knowledge by its vastness alone.
Pfeil Ulrike,
O'neil Matthieu, Le Monde Diplomatique Wikipedia: Experts are Us.
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