Archive:Stories: Difference between revisions

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+{{cquote|I have been a regular user of Wikipedia for the past five or so years.  Most often I will Google something I need information about and usually will visit the Wikipedia link first before visiting other links. Recently however I found myself with a job interview for a position in Radiology with a large hospital near my home.  This position was related to my former role in Information Technology field for the past ten years but was a management role where I would own a medical imaging system known as a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System.)  Not being at all familiar with PACS I needed relevant information and fast to help me prepare for my interview.  A Google search for "PACS" produced many links as expected but the Wikipedia link provided was near the top.  I was able to get all of the information I needed to help me feel confident with my interviewing skills.  Despite my potential employer knowing I did not have first hand experience with PACS they were impressed with the knowledge I was able to present.  Needless to say I got the job!  Wikipedia is a great example of forward thinking people.  It captures the power of the human race.  The human brain is still the most powerful computer anywhere.  Why not harness that power into a website?  I truly believe Wikipedia does that.}}
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 {{cquote|I was one of the editors of first edition of The American Heritage Dictionary. For five years I laboriously, but happily, researched the meanings of words using the only tools available -- printed reference works and citations (words in context). Along the way I experienced the odd veneration in which lexicographers are held while observing first-hand our fallibility. Eventually I worked for an online information service designed for librarians and learned how rigorous the best of their tradition is about the quality of information. The saying goes, you can have information fast, cheap, or accurate -- pick any two. The remarkable thing to me is that, to the extent I am able to cross check information I take from the Wikipedia, it almost always satisfies all three criteria. A former harmless drudge -- still harmless but no longer needing to drudge -- I tip my hat to every contributor to the Wikipedia and to its founder. It is a shame many of my former dictionary colleagues did not live to see what you've accomplished.}}