Wikipedia Update

I tried to update a Wikipedia page about a mall near my home in NJ, Garden State Plaza. I tried to include updated information regarding what the mall has to offer today since the post had been lacking current information. So, based on my knowledge I wrote about new stores that were being created, how stores were expanding, how the new movie theater has changed the mall's traffic, and about different services offered like personal shoppers and professional makeovers. Since I did not look up any of this information, I did not cite it. Bad move. It got taken down and I have to put it back up with citations from various websites to prove what I write is factually correct. Although I feel kind of like an idiot for not citing it, I think it is really good that it got taken down for lack of support. This shows that the editors take their jobs seriously and want to make sure that when people use information from Wikipedia, they are getting factually correct information that can be found elsewhere on the web.

I Read That Right After I Wrote That

I can say in all confidence that I will owe both my diploma and my bachelors degree to three distinct technological advancements and of course, my undying work ethic.

A quick list - Wikipedia, Easybib, Blackberrys

I find it incredibly annoying, unrealistic and stubborn when professors refuse to allow students to use Wikipedia. For one, they have now way of preventing me from doing this. I have other issues with citations and the absence of originality, which may be more accurately referred to as authenticity, but that is another discussion entirely. Perhaps not entirely so. Is everything on Wikipedia the distinct property of one person? Is anything? There is a wealth of information and knowledge in the world and Wikpedia has been referred to by Jimmy Wales as the "sum" of it. It seems to me that human knowledge is a continually growing item which will never be counted in its entirety.

In light of Wikipedias ability to highlight and link to other relevant information that can strengthen a paper or an argument, I must say that access to Wikipedia is not only a privilege, but a right of the sensible and modern student. If you want to live in a fantasy world where your pupils make daily trips to the library and read, then do it. I'll be elsewhere.