Wikisurfing: Riding the wave of wiki knowledge
It happens more than I care to admit. I’ll be watching something on television or reading a book and an interesting idea, concept, object, place or person stands out. I want to know more. Next thing I know I’m at my computer, on the internet, Googling whatever captured my attention. Of course, one of the first search results to appear always seems to be from Wikipedia- that bastion of internet knowledge that anyone can edit.
When I click on the entry, I’m immediately taken to an easy-to-read article where I can educate myself about that thing I saw on television or read in a book. The article is peppered with links to other Wikipedia articles. Another interesting item catches my attention in the original Wikipedia article, and I click on it, learning about something, perhaps, completely different. And so the pattern goes; surfing from one article to the next with little care about how they are connected. This continues on until I either have something else I need to do, or my eyes are about to fall out from staring at my computer screen for too long.
The internet has changed the way we do research. I remember having to take a trip to my local library to read about even the most trivial subjects. Now, a simple search in Google or your other favorite search engine is all it takes. Wikipedia as emerged as the "big fish" as far as online resources go. Most searches will bring up a Wikipedia entry, so you can’t miss it.
The online encyclopedia "that anyone can edit" is not without its faults, however. There are allegations of articles being inaccurate and volunteer editors with fake credentials. I remember reading an article, where the author described his experience trying to change the Wikipedia article that described him. He said the article mentioned he was a filmmaker – but the only film was a short one he made back in college.
Realizing that even an open-source encyclopedia is imperfect, I try to take each article I read with a grain of salt. I mainly view Wikipedia as a way to skim the surface of information about any given subject. But any further inquiry would require using peer reviewed resources that have, for the most part, withstood the test of time. While a college student, I never heard of one professor who let students use Wikipedia as a source for any essay.
Wikisurfing is about finding new and interesting stuff
But when you’re Wikisurfing, you’re not too concerned about this detail being accurate or a slight bias in the way the article was written. My favorite part of Wikisurfing is jumping effortlessly from one article to another and in the end, seeing how far away I can get from the original subject. Reading an article on Alaska, for example, can lead you to reading about astronauts. You just never know where Wikipedia will take you!
Take each article with a grain of salt
As I have mentioned before, Wikipedia is far from perfect. Articles can be inaccurate, biased and you never know what qualifications that person writing the article on aortic dissections (random article) has. There have also been reports of some editors falsifying their own credentials. My point is that Wikipedia is one of those sites that is probably not well-suited for serious research.
The ebook connection
One of the great promises of a site like Wikipedia is its ability to enhance ebooks. Think about it: You’re reading a great sci-fi novel and you come across something like "black holes" and you want to learn more about them. It would be really easy to include a hyper-link within the text so with one click, you can read up on black holes. This will definitely add a whole new dimension to reading. Right now, the Amazon Kindle (aff link) gives you access to Wikipedia, although I’m not sure if links are built into the text.
What do you think about Wikipedia? Do you like to Wikisurf? Let us know by leaving a comment. Don’t be shy!
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