Librarians

After our discussion on Wednesday, I stumbled across this funny picture that someone had posted on the internet.  It discusses the plausibility of the information that we encounter on the internet and how to determine whether or not it is true.  While this cartoon obviously jokes about the subject, a real argument can be pulled from it as well.  There is so much information available to you through television, internet, magazines but how is a person to wade through the made up stories and incorrect accusations?  The answer is to look through your social network and find a person that will most likely be knowledgeable on the subject and able to give you correct information.

In this picture, they use a librarian as a subject who would know the most about the news and unverified stories, but it could also be argued that Wikipedia is like having a vast array of librarians just one click away.  While students are always warned not to cite Wikipedia as a credible source, it is actually fairly reliable when looking for a brief overview of a specific topic.  There is no restriction as to who can post so you get many different perspectives on the information you are being presented with. 

Wikipedia is a website based mostly on fact rather than opinion so it is fairly easy to check whether or not the data is correct.  News and other forms of information you are presented with are a little harder to verify because there can be biases and other factors preventing you from knowing every aspect of the argument.  That is why it is important for people to get there stories from multiple ties in their social networks.  Being friends with people who have conflicting interests will present you with both sides of the story so you can figure out for yourself exactly what to believe.

The reliability of Wikipedia and other internet sites cannot always be certain, however with the correct ties to verify, you can find out what is fact and what is fiction.