Speaking of randomness… Sheri sent me this link to WikipediaVision.  The explanation on the FAQ page reads, in part:

WikipediaVision is a visualization of edits to the English Wikipedia, almost the same time as they happen.  For each wikipedia edit I display the title of the article, the summary of the edit (if the person who made it gave any summary), link to the changes that were made to the article, geographical location of the wikipedia user and the time the edit happened.

It’s intriguing… go check it out.  I was amused by the variety of subjects being edited at any given time.  This would be an interesting example to use when debating the validity of Wikipedia as an academic resource.  Can a resource be valid when the “truth” can be edited by one person with a click of the mouse?  Not that books and journals are any more valid, necessarily.  It’s the “peer review” that makes them legitmate, but that’s only the difference between one person lying and a conspiracy, right?

Posted by Kristina in Musings at 01:22 PM Permalink