How accurate is the internet?

[Darren_L]

the internet is only ever as accurate as it's source

 

[tonza]

First up, Dakster, good luck with the thesis. Lots of work i'm sure.

Now seriously, is any source ever entirely accurate? For example, if a scientist did years of research and came to a conclusion, who's to say that he didn't make a mistake or typo, and his whole research is wrong? What if a well known and widely accepted fact was actually made up and perceived to be truth by a group of cunning conspiring scientist terrorists?
For example, what if evolution is actually false and all evidence of it is planted there by thousands of people over hundreds of years, who were all part of a massive con to get the people of the world to believe it? Apply that con to any other theory or widely accepted scientific thing.

Sorry too many beers

 

[Dayvo]

Of course its all true , heres proof

 

[Cheap6]

Wikipedia depends on the wisdom of crowds. Maybe any given article on it is best viewed over a period of time where updates and corrections can be observed and assessed.

At least we know what Wikipedia is. I think of greater concern is the filter bubbles where a search engine will use what you previously linked to as an input when bringing up new links under new searches. The result is that you end up having your existing conceptions reinforced. When trying to learn something new it's very annoying.

I am fairly certain that many sites (news sites in particular) tailor what public comments and links to similar stories are displayed based on what you (or at least your computer) have clicked on before.

 

[GothicKidd]

Of course its all true , heres proof

Holy crap. he looks like my uncle. freakyyyy.

 

[fatboyvk]

at one time people thought the world was flat. probably not a typo but just goes to show that just because someone thinks its right doesnt mean it is.
also what is your thesis about.

 

[bigneilsen]

I was the school priest for a few wks. Haha my mates were the principle and vice principle

 

[SookyTurner]

Wikipedia provides the LOL's when it came to an economics Assessment task last year ( year 11 )

Had one kid hand in an essay that still had the hyperlinks in blue and underlined. Then Watching the teacher ask the kid "if i touch the link will it take me to another wikipedia page?" "ZERO"

Hey don't knock it.. Back in grade 11 physics I bit off more then I could chew by electing to do an assignment on the twins paradox..

I ended up just printing a web page (not wiki) and guillotining off the bottom of the page to get rid of the address..

:innocent:

One of my mates in year 10 copied and pasted a whole WW1 assignment from different webpages with different fonts and size text. He handed it in without changing any of the fonts or formatting lol

 

[Stressball]

The Internet(TM) is accurate to within One Internet of the truth.

Wikipedia can be accurate on certain topics, which are well-sourced and actually can't be edited by just anybody. In particular, certain political figures pages are locked from editing because of the constant editing by high schoolers looking for lulz. General rule though, wiki is good for an idea/basic info, but research elsewhere to confirm. The intergoogle is out to get you.

 

[Aussie V8]

Wikipeadia has one major flaw, it can be edited by anyone. I wont accept an assignment with wikipedia in it and every HS kid I have taught knows not to try to pull it over me. Turnitin.com is a great resource and tells you if a kid has cut and pasted. Hand it it to me on paper but also send me an email with the assignment in it as well so I can put it through the ringer.

When discussing wikipedia I tell people to ask themselves, do they really think the Pope is infallible? if they answer yes I roll my eyes and tell them to read as much wikipedia as they desire. If they answer no, I tell them to get a variety of resources that are peer reviewed and to compare them to wikipedia. Once they see that even eminent people of their fields of expertise do not agree they see that wikipedia is simply one source of information and one that should never ever be used in an assessable piece of work.