Wikitannica

For the purpose of this assignment I looked up the term "Snow Crash" in both Wikipedia and Encylopaedia Britannica, hoping that I would find some information about the book by Neil Stephenson which we had to read for this course. I searched for this keeping in mind that "Snow Crash" is a science fiction book that has influenced our culture in a significant way, spawning many other books and games that would not exist had it not been for this piece of literature. So all in all, it's a pretty important book. And while Wikipedia presented me with an extensive article that covered the plot, the characters, ideas behind the book, philosophy and even some of the technology used in it, Britannica only had to offer a small stump where "Snow Crash" is briefly mentioned in the final lines of the article.

It seems to me that Wikipedia is far more reflective upon our modern age than Encylopaedia Britannica in the sense that it puts its focus on more contemporary topics rather than covering the traditional themes. The entertainment industry makes up for a lot of articles in Wikipedia whereas in EB they are briefly mentioned, if at all, since they are not considered academic matters and are therefore irrelevant. The great difference between these two encylopaedias then is that EB seeks out the most academic topics whereas Wikipedia tries to encompass it all. It is also constantly growing every single day unlike EB, so Wikipedia seems to be the place to go for the most up-to-date information in any matter.

Wikipedia might not have the most accurate or academic information, but what it lacks in traditionalism, it makes up for in diversity and magnitude. These are two crucial key words in our modern times, where the world is coming together and everywhere you look you can almost see changes taking place in front of your eyes all the time, every day. Wikipedia is almost like a living organism, for its eyes, ears and hands are the people who build it and make it grow. It evolves together with us, taking in everything that happens and reflecting it back into our lives. Is it an encylopaedia? Yes. But it's far more than that. Essentially it is a mirror reflecting back at each and every one of us. It is a contemporary cultural phenomenon more than anything else, and therefore its value lies in more than just the information it contains - its importance comes from the way it is constructed and the people that shape it - us.

It's a splendid example of a product of the age of information and connectivity, or Web 2.0 as some might like to call it. This phenomenon of internet, of digital information and constant evolvment is our shadow - if we pick up the pace and start running faster, it will be right at our heels. But are we still the ones who determine the pace of our evolution? Have we ever been able to do it in the first place? These are interesting questions I think. If we're sitting in a car that's going down the information highway, are we sure that we're the ones at the wheel? Are we ready for whatever is out there, waiting for us? Only time will tell. And time, in today's society, is everything and simultaneously absolutely nothing.

- Eve.