User:Taeshadow

About me
I am a computer programmer and musician. Formerly, I was a student in computer science.

I believe in the freedom of information. However, I also believe in peer review.

Wikipedia philosophy
I maintain that Wikipedia is the most powerful source of knowledge ever devised by humankind.

"Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information."

- Michael Scott

That's a joke, but it's also true. Not that every fact in Wikipedia is correct; far from it. But the potential is there, which is something no other publication has ever accomplished, and no traditionally edited publication can possibly accomplish.

There is a lot of commotion regarding citations and Wikipedia. As I see it, there are two kinds of citations. One says "I don't really know how to express this (or I'm too lazy, or I don't want to exceed the page count, or whatever), but these guys said it better than I could anyway". The other says "you may not believe this is true, so here is another paper to back me up". I don't think students understand the distinction. Citing Wikipedia should be an example of the former, not the latter.

As much as it pains me when I see vandalism and sloppy editing, I know it's necessary for it to be allowed. The system does work.

Pages

 * User:Taeshadow/Page for drafts: articles I'm writing, or thinking of writing. Nothing to see here, move on...
 * User:Taeshadow/Objectionable constructions: strange grammar that I don't like