Long live our glorious leader.

[--Pete]

Hi,

My 7th grade son isn't even allowed to use Wikipedia as the basis for anything in school. Why in the world would you try and use it in an intellectual discussion between adults?

Then I suggest you take your son out of that school and put him somewhere where the teachers aren't too lazy to check sources. Information from Wikipedia is no better nor worse than any other information on the web (and most print and TV for that matter). When someone cites a source, check out that source. See if it appears impartial and correct or biased. Look at it to determine if it is propaganda or information. Check *it's* references to see if they stand up.

I've often used Wikipedia to refresh my mind on matters of science or mathematics, two fields I *am* an expert in. I've yet to find an error. I use it often to check on matters of history, of philosophy, of geography, of bibliography. These are fields in which I have a passing interest and knowledge. I have found a few cases where the information in Wikipedia did not agree with what I thought was true. Further investigation showed that sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong, and sometimes it was a matter of opinion that even the experts did not agree upon.

To simply write off a source is stupid, narrow minded, and lazy. Send your kid to a school that teaches better thought processes, or risk his becoming another of the mindless millions who believe without thinking, know without examining, and act from ignorance.

--Pete