Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Own up ... how many times have you tried to visit Wikipedia today?

Unusually low traffic here today, and I've made only two abortive searches, when I forgot that there's a blackout.

I can't remember when I got the habit - whoops, have just googled vainly to find when Wikipedia began - but certainly 10 years ago I would have had to survive without knowing what tops and noils are. (Reference that passed over my head, relating to the wool industry, in Hockney biography. I know now. I'll have forgotten again by tomorrow. Maybe it will surface one day when I'm watching University Challenge.)

Attempt two was utterly trivial search for information about a famous actress who I may or may not have seen yesterday, but was confused because a) she was shorter than I expected and b) if it was her, she was wearing really awful trousers ... so maybe it wasn't her.
So I had to find out how tall she is. (I won't embarrass the famous actress - who appeared in Cranford - in case she really was in the West End in a pair of awful trousers. I mean, you should have seen what I was wearing ... )

I sometimes wish that Wikipedia would operate a Need to Know facility.

Of course, yesterday I really did need to know about red pandas in China. Honest.

5 comments:

Lucille said...

Like the elephant's child I am full of 'satiable curtiosity' and Wikipedia is the 'go to' destination for everything. Have you ever edited an entry?

mary said...

Not Judi Dench, Sue. I shouldn't think she owns badly-cut trousers ... anyway, I've now decided it was a lookalike! I didn't think to use French Wiki yesterday ... what a good idea, though maybe not for Bradford wool industry!

I don't know what I did before there was Wikipedia, Lucille - but I've never edited, even when I've spotted subjective opinion/sweeping statement. (Actually, don't have a clue how to edit!) I think it's an amazing resource if handled with common sense.

Anonymous said...

I didn't miss it one iota. It is something that I studiously avoid if at all possible. I have no idea why I am so against it but there you have it.

Darlene said...

Fingers crossed, things are looking better in the comments section today, Mary. Hope this posts without a problem.

I noticed things were blacked out on Firefox last night when I tried using it at the library last night. Oh well...funny that you mention an actress being shorter than you thought her to be. When in Heathrow last September, I am quite sure I passed Cillian Murphy in the passageway to the restrooms. You guessed it...he's shorter than I thought he was! What sort of cinematic trickery is going on here?

mary said...

Glad to see you back, Darlene.