Pick one concept from the assigned reading that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.
In chapter 3 of our textbook, on page 57, the concepts associated with "evaluating information on the web" are discussed. It is noted that although the World Wide Web is a really rich source of information, "it is a rich source of misinformation as well".
In Chapter 3 the book talks about the idea of misinformation that comes from the web. I found this interesting because I tend to trust everything that comes from the web, but then again, I am too trusting. I tend to think “why would anyone want to lie to people?”
I used to use Wikipedia.com for everything, including as a source for school assignments. I really never understood why professors would say not to use it as a reliable source because I thought it always gave me great information. That is until I watched an episode of the show “30 Rock”. On this episode one of the characters on the show wanted to search information on Janis Joplin, because she was going to play her in a movie; so she searched Wikipedia because her friends told her it was a great, reliable source (she was not too bright). As a prank her friends put tons of false info on Janis and she ended up portraying the character horribly.
As the book says, the internet is a great tool to use and is ful of useful information but we tend to forget that anything can be put on the internet, and anyone has access to putting information on there, even people that are less then truthful.
Have a great weekend,
ImaginePeace
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A professor I had over the summer told us about Wikipedia and how you can just edit the information on a given topic. I think using it as a source for a paper may not be a good thing but atleast it gives you a summary of what to expect while researching.
ReplyDeleteNow that I know how to research through our schools database, I can see how inaccurate the web could be.
I think that an important thing to remember when surfing the web is that people can publish whatever they want and if enough people believe it, it can become truth.
In this day and age plaigarism is becomming a serious problem, especially for college students. I think that being able to evaluate what information is reliable and what is not is an important tool whether your a college student, a housewife, etc. People refer to websites like wikipedia or WebMD for personal problems and information. This can be dangerous if people begin to diagnos themselves and avoid seeing a physician. Overall the section of the book is very useful and should be a topic every person reads up on.
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