Wikinformation

So some hot shot journalist gets upset because a Wikipedia article implicates reporter in the Kennedy assasination.

I like Wikipedia. I like it because I know it is flawed. Anyone can add content. Opinions are part of encyclopedia entries. And if you disagree with an entry, you can add to, edit, or replace it with your own. I like to hound this point but here goes again. When you look up topics in Britanica and Wikipedia, what is the difference between the entries? What makes one a more reputable source than the other? Here's my answer. The authors for the Britanica pieces operate under the delusion that they are seperate from the piece, impartial. They aren't! Light seems to travel as a wave or a particle depending on what we use to look at it. A scientist could be completely objective and talk all about his experiences looking at light waves. Another scientist could be completely objective and talk all about her experiences looking at light particles. Neither is wrong, but their data won't match. That's all information that reaches us. We see what we are looking for. Using an opensource project like Wikipedia is a constant reminder of who the ultimate editor in your life has to be.

Further lessons:

How do you know that the New York Times is telling the truth and the Weekly World News is lieing?

Why did a majority of the population, including Democratic Congressmen and Senators, believe the pre-Iraq invasion intelligence reports?

How is a person in an American flag shirt and a yellow ribbon on their SUV more or less patriotic than an artist who suspends a crucifix in urine and makes people walk across an American flag if they want to view it?

Information consists of what you directly experience. Your brain then filters a good deal of it before you can even 'think' about it. Ever met a reporter? No brighter than you or me. Imagine all the filtering that happens in their brains before writing a piece. Then an editor reads and filters. Then you read an filter.

Mis-Information, Dis-Information, completely altered and edited reality. You create your own reality, every second.

And if you disagree with all of the above, then you are not right or wrong. You are seeing the world through a filter that blocks or edits some of the information.