What's the most interesting thing you've learned from Wikipedia?
Clarification added September 18, 2007:
Include a link, please.
Answers (562)
1. You can't sing your own praises. You have to make such a huge impression on people that they do it for you.
2. You are only as interesting as the things you can link to. Without a link you are suspect-- in life and on Wikipedia.
3. Don't tell everyone how great you are, just say what you did. If the deeds don't speak for themselves you'll be deleted.
Links:
I spent hours one day reading all the mythology of the Warhammer 40k roleplaying universe. Hey, it might not be rocket science or real history, but it sure was interesting :)
Links:
I learned about In N' Out burger's history and corporate culture...and to look for two crossed palm trees outside the entrance.
Links:
Charles (Chip) R
Strategic Marketing & Business Development Executive (Startups to Fortune 50)
Two things:
1) You can convince anybody of anything, no matter how incorrect, through the power of large groups / group think.
2) As a society, we've abandoned the notion of a true expert - someone who has devoted their life to a topic and is looked to provide insight and an unbiased recounting of facts.
Reminds me of the movie Idiocracy - check it out - we think we're getting smarter, but we're really dumbing down our entire society.
Robert V
Associate Director for Student Programs at The Mathematical Association of America
It's a fun place to play, but don't believe anything without a second source.
Darwin D. R
Analyst, National Preparedness Division, Man-Machine Systems Assessment
The definition and design of a shaduf. (I am a Cub Scout Master who referenced the entry when looking for a way to demonstrate the principles of leverage to my cub scouts)
I've learned to make sure you check your sources and don't believe everything you read on the net.
That the population of African elephants has tripled in the past year.
That large, public organizations actually attempted to sweep under the carpet, the 'not so good' points written about them.
For those of you not in the know, check out: http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/
They never paused to think about what would happen when people found out!
That you never stop learning and it's a pleasure to discover new things/terms/facts every day!
Thank you Wiki.
You can't know everything. You might think you could read an encyclopedia cover to cover. That isn't going to happen with Wikipedia. It's pretty humbling.
How willing people are to donate their time to enrich others. Could provide a platform for further social action.
Wikipedia, and some of the answers below, demonstrate that the worst nightmare of George Orwell (1984) can be reality. Culture can be dismantled, hystory easily re-written, disinformation easily and (almost) effortlessly spread. In 50 years (I do not plan to be there), someone may read that Adolf Hitler was just a funny guy with strange whiskers (or maybe that was Charlie Chaplin?)... Just start dropping an a fact today, an adjective tomorrow,...
The most interesting thing I've learned from Wikipedia is that people will write about anything and everything under the sun.
Joe F
Experienced Logistics Executive, Chinese Joint Venture Experience, Hands-on Operational Leader
Jimmy,
The most interesting thing I have learned is the explanation of lattitude and longitude. It is well laid out and written in layman's terms with just the right amount of sketches to make your point. History of the challenge and various solutions over time were interesting as well.
I found a table comparing the inherent energy density of various fuels to be very illuminating regarding a strategic energy plan.
Todd H
SEO / Marketing Guru - TopLinked.com 14,000+ connections - LinkedIn LION - Open Networker - Invites Welcomed
Best Answers in: Using LinkedIn (4), Advertising (1), Internet Marketing (1), Branding (1), E-Commerce (1)
That the founder of Wikipedia goes by "Jimbo", but people respect him anyway... :-)
Links:
that the term "Happy Meal is also a name given to a combined Ethernet and SCSI adapter used in Sun Microsystems machines. (hme)... I always believed it was but it was just a little proof.
Links:
Susan P
Market Research Director at bvk
Best Answers in: Market Research and Definition (2), Venture Capital and Private Equity (1)
For most of the animals with Wikipedia entries, their phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species are listed. Due to increasing use of genetic analysis to investigate relationships between types of organisms, there are a lot of changes happening in classifications and Wikipedia is right on top of most of them.
Hello Jimmy
Don't beleive everything you read on it. But it does give you a starting point to a subject you would like to delve into. I wish Wikipedia also some sort of ranking of experts to bring more authencity to the information.
Regards
Malhar
Saul C
Head of Magic, FreshBooks.com
Best Answers in: Customer Service (1), Guerrilla Marketing (1), Viral Marketing (1), Business Development (1)
I learned that a comic book I wrote a few years back is HUGE is Denmark!
Woot!
Saul Colt
Director of Fun
THE TOY AGENCY at Happy Worker
What ever I want to know, I am straight going to wiki for the last two years, so basically what ever I learned in last two years
Prashant B
Dreamer and Business Builder. [1880+ Friends]
Best Answers in: Facilities Management (1), Direct Marketing (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Wikipedia itself and the power of collaboration. Awesome in one word. I use it as reference for everything, amazing content.
Lots of interesting things (I loved to read encyclopedias as a geeky child). But the single most astounding thing I've learned, not related to business formation or networking etc. (if that's the implied topic here?) was the article about the "Oppenheimer Plan", the first, and punitive, plan for post-WWIIwar German/Euro reconstruction, and how the plan was being more or less implemented (contrary to popular belief) before it was recognized as perverse and counterproductive and the much more pragmatic and humane "Marshall Plan" approach was adopted. (Vengence is such a poor basis for foreign policy, then and now.)
Also, I'd just like to say, this "check the references" with Wikipedia is kind of overblown conventional wisdom. At least Wikipedia articles should come with footnotes and citations you can check and a commitment to a neutral POV and flagged when not. So things can be wrong and slanted? Isn't that true of any written expression? Where do you see external footnotes and that degree of transparency in most media articles, in addition to the "instant correctibility/peer review function? I tend to think most Wiki articles on anything remotely controversial are pretty trustworthy as a secondary reference and point of entry into the subject.
Links:
Clarification added September 18, 2007:
Whoops...must not have had enough morning coffee here. Reference was wrong. I meant MORGENTHAU Plan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgenthau_plan
Ian I
Have Coffee with me! www.coffeewithian.com
Best Answers in: Public Relations (1), Web Development (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
That some people are protective of their "facts" even if they are eventually are proven to be untrue. Wikipedians, casual or hardcore want their edits to be part of the definitive article on an item that they are passionate about.
cross-domain knowledge browsing potential
Fabrice H
Vice President in charge of Development at DataTale, WinDev, WebDev, WinDev Mobile consulting
The extend of roman waterworks and the brutal loss of knowledge when the roman empire died...
The fact that humankind needed more than 1000 years to reinvent such systems made me ask myself if current days distribution of knowledge via so many tools from printed books to wikipedia would be enough to prevent us from the same phenomenon, should a catastrophic event occur...
Lee H
CEO | Open networker with 6,000 connections. [Lee@informednetworks.com]
Best Answers in: Corporate Law (1), Packaging and Labeling (1), Distribution (1)
Team processes are instructive.
I have written an entry for Wikipedia and the editorial collaboration was very helpful. It drew the best content from the story and made it articulate. Who knew working with a bunch of anonymous editors could be so interesting?
Thanks very much.
Sincerely,
Lee
:: Informed Networks Corporation :: BackgroundNow.com :: (713) 784-3232, extension 3142 :: Mobile (281) 687-3232 :: Fax (281) 754-4886 :: Skype Name leehill2
The difference between Great Britain, England and the United Kingdom.
Links:
I participated in a business case competition about solar energy in Africa. Now I know more about Namibia and the regions within Namibia.
I researched about these regions the most: Oshikoto, Oshana and Omusati. Unfortunately, more information regarding these regions were unavailable in Wikipedia and this automatically means, it's not available anywhere else. :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omusati
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshikoto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshana
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