[Foundation-l] sell wikipedia

Wed Jan 27 00:57:44 UTC 2010

William Pietri wrote:
> On 01/23/2010 02:59 AM, Jussi-Ville Heiskanen wrote:
>   
>> William Pietri wrote:
>>     
>>> I note that just last night I was browsing EBay to see what a set of the
>>> 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica goes for. For $10, I could get it on DVD.
>>> Or I could pay hundreds for a physical set. I would never buy the DVD,
>>> but I might buy the physical set. And I already own a reproduction of
>>> the 3-volume 1768 edition.
>>>       
>> Out of curiosity, how does the three volume edition
>> measure up?
>>     
> I'm not quite sure how to answer that. Is there something you wanted me 
> to measure it against?
>   

Perhaps that's what's wrong with the question. If we judge those volumes 
strictly by 21st century standards most of the contents will fail 
miserably. The greatest value that these volumes provide is their 
contribution to the historical framework of knowledge. On-line 
communities are prone to a recentism that ignores how knowledge got to 
where it is and the collective effort and experience that accomplished this.
> Personally, I find it a delight, and am prone to flipping through it 
> when I'm wondering what exactly an encyclopedia is. More for inspiration 
> than knowledge, of course. But it's nice to see the familiar features: 
> articles, large and small; redirects, see-alsos, illustrations, 
> references; even a proto-NPOV, where on topics of dispute, both sides 
> are explained.
>   

I find my copy a delight too, even with all the faux foxing to make it 
look old. I also love my copy of the 1701 second edition of Jeremy 
Collier's "Great Historical, Geographical, and Poetical Dictionary". It 
doesn't use the word "encyclopedia", but still shows enough 
characteristics to be called one. My favorite article:

    NEW-ZELAND, a large Country of /South America/, or /Antartickland/,
    discovered by the /Hollanders/ in 1642. It lies South of the
    Pacifick Sea, and far East of /New-Guiny/ and /Solomon/'s Island. 
    It's not yet known whether it be an Island or Continent, there being
    no /European/ Colony settled there./ Baudr[and]/.

The first edition of the Britannica did not include an article about New 
Zealand.
> My second-favorite thing about it is that the three volumes, which were 
> published serially, are A-B, C-L, M-Z. I've always suspected they 
> started out with a surplus of ambition and then realized what they were 
> up against. And my favorite thing is the preface, which starts out, 
> "Utility ought to be the principle intention of every publication." 
> Reading through it never fails to remind me what a great enterprise an 
> encyclopedia is, both theirs and ours.
>
>
>   
I have a dozen or more encyclopedic works, among which I include 
biographical compendia. (I'm finding it tough to acquire the secon 
through eighth editions of the EB.) Comparing the way that each treats 
the same subject can be fascinating. The detailed articles about World 
War I in the 12th edition of the EB were no longer there for the 13th; 
the later printings of the 14th edition differed considerably from the 
earliest. The "Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada" includes far more from 
Spanish speaking countries than what you might find in an English work.

Depending on only one encyclopedia presents a risk of monotonic thinking.

Ec