Comments on: Wikipedia at Harvard http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2007/04/19/wikipedia-at-harvard/ A posting every day; an interesting idea every three months... Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:16:30 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Jagadeesh Venugopal http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2007/04/19/wikipedia-at-harvard/comment-page-1/#comment-42862 Jagadeesh Venugopal Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:36:00 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2007/04/19/wikipedia-at-harvard/#comment-42862 At Bryant U in Providence, RI where I'm a grad student, using Wikipedia citations is generally frowned upon. One professor suggested we use it as a starting point, trace back the information to the original sources, and then use it (which seemed like a reasonable way to use Wikipedia, while still maintaining the sanctity of references). At Bryant U in Providence, RI where I’m a grad student, using Wikipedia citations is generally frowned upon. One professor suggested we use it as a starting point, trace back the information to the original sources, and then use it (which seemed like a reasonable way to use Wikipedia, while still maintaining the sanctity of references).

]]> By: Jacoplane http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2007/04/19/wikipedia-at-harvard/comment-page-1/#comment-22736 Jacoplane Thu, 19 Apr 2007 21:58:51 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2007/04/19/wikipedia-at-harvard/#comment-22736 And isn't it a wonderful thing. Those $40,000 per year students will all be fine simply because they studied at Harvard. The world (unlike Wikipedia) is not a meritocracy. Students from Harvard will get $200,000 per year jobs simply because they studied at Harvard. The same can't be said about a Romanian kid who spends years reading Wikipedia. But at least that kid will have that knowledge and perhaps that will enhance their ability to get ahead. And isn’t it a wonderful thing. Those $40,000 per year students will all be fine simply because they studied at Harvard. The world (unlike Wikipedia) is not a meritocracy. Students from Harvard will get $200,000 per year jobs simply because they studied at Harvard. The same can’t be said about a Romanian kid who spends years reading Wikipedia. But at least that kid will have that knowledge and perhaps that will enhance their ability to get ahead.

]]> By: Colin Summers http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2007/04/19/wikipedia-at-harvard/comment-page-1/#comment-22724 Colin Summers Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:02:59 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2007/04/19/wikipedia-at-harvard/#comment-22724 Having Stephen Greenblatt read you the Wikipedia page on Shakespeare is going to have value. There might even be value in seeing which parts of a generic encyclopedia entry a professor might skip over. There are, as far as I know, no secondary schools in the United States that are meritocracies. That distinction is bestowed on only a few schools at all, Stuyvesant High School being one. Work hard, be smart, get in and you can work hard to get smarter and get out. I don't think anyone is fooled that Harvard is anything like that. As a friend put it, "It's the Nike swoosh. You're paying for the name which you pay for because people are willing to pay for the name." You meet a lot of other people who believe that meeting people is important, and since you meet them you are part of the network of people who believe that a network of people is important and how you get things done. Add your own recursive idea here. Having Stephen Greenblatt read you the Wikipedia page on Shakespeare is going to have value. There might even be value in seeing which parts of a generic encyclopedia entry a professor might skip over.

There are, as far as I know, no secondary schools in the United States that are meritocracies. That distinction is bestowed on only a few schools at all, Stuyvesant High School being one. Work hard, be smart, get in and you can work hard to get smarter and get out.

I don’t think anyone is fooled that Harvard is anything like that. As a friend put it, “It’s the Nike swoosh. You’re paying for the name which you pay for because people are willing to pay for the name.” You meet a lot of other people who believe that meeting people is important, and since you meet them you are part of the network of people who believe that a network of people is important and how you get things done.

Add your own recursive idea here.

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