Our Wiki-World

Today I was outside of my friend's apartment in Arlington and I saw a window sticker on a car identifying its owner as an alumnus of Johns Hopkins University. Seeing the name reminded me of long minutes spent at my old office (where we dealt often with the names of big research hospitals connected to major universities) trying to explain to coworkers that it was in fact "Johns Hopkins" not "John Hopkins." While plumbing this memory, I realized that I really didn't know what the origin of this interesting name was. Was there one man whose parent's had chosen to name him as if he was a group of Johns? Did two individuals with the last names Johns and Hopkins contribute to the establishment of the university?

Turns out that a single man named Johns Hopkins bequeathed a hefty sum for the establishment of the university in the late 1800's. Twenty or thirty years ago, finding this information would've required some effort and time in research. Today, all I did was check on Wikipedia and found out in all of 20 seconds.

I use Wikipedia often, as I'm sure many people out there do. While it's somewhat beyond my paygrade (I'm a GS-0, in case you were wondering) to consider the implications of an open market for information such as the free online encyclopedia, I have formulated an opinion on Wiki's place in the world of both academic and personal study.

I recently finished my graduate work at William and Mary, and during my time there I heard repeatedly about the taboo nature of Wiki sources in academic research. It's relatively clear that one should never submit a serious academic paper with a citation to the popular website, that would be some shoddy research. However, I think that with the appropriate focus Wiki is both a useful personal tool and also (and I think more importantly) a valuable academic exercise.

What makes me think so is that Wiki contributors are required to offer some type of citation of their own when providing information. Un-cited facts are typically accompanied with some type of warning that a citation is needed. As a result, a conscientious user must check all citations for any information they might choose to depend on. This is a good thing.

There is such a glut of information available to us right now. We can find just about any answer (correct or no) on the internet. Likewise, television and radio are constantly throwing answers to us for questions we haven't even asked. In this world, it can be tempting to just take what people (or machines) tell you and be thankful to finally close the issue.

Sadly, this tempting ease of knowledge is dangerous. We should always be willing to ask where information comes from. Who is sharing? What do they think? Why would they think that way? How can they help us to study the topic more deeply? What we learn in the world is only as valuable as our trust in the tools that helped us find it.

So, I don't think that you should consider a Wikipedia entry on Post-Modernism or the Second World War to be an encompassing education on the topic, but as a stepping off point for whatever you're trying to figure out. If it's a simple thing (like the origin of a university's name) you can probably just find what you need to know and move on. If it's more complex (like the intricacies of European health care) Wiki gives you a friend (or a lot of friends) who can help you decide how to start.

There are a lot of things in the world right now that are very confusing. Our country is struggling to reform its health care system. Every day our soldiers and sailors are putting themselves in harm's way overseas. It is increasingly unclear what type of environment we will be passing on to our children. Our neighbors in this world are struggling through political and cultural turmoil. It can be a lot to try and wrap your mind around.

I don't suggest you try to learn everything about these topics on Wikipedia, certainly not. Instead, I implore you to take the lessons of the online encyclopedia with you as you try to make sense of our challenges. Think about the sources you choose to trust. Dare to ask why you trust them. Most importantly, remember that even Wikipedia entries can be changed, it would be a fool's errand to never allow your mind to do the same.

In case you're wondering, my fact about Johns Hopkins was cited to "A Brief History of JHU" from the university's website.