• merc@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Yeah, even on Wikipedia, most of the key information is stuff that hasn’t been significantly changed in decades. The stuff in a 30 year old Encarta CD was probably enough to pass many undergraduate degrees. It’s only once you start doing advanced stuff that it matters that it’s 30 years out of date.

    What the Encyclopedia Britannica and Encarta weren’t as good for was searching for information. Like, say you wanted to know why the sky is blue, or the name of the bird with a huge beak pouch, you wouldn’t know where to start. One of the things that makes modern online systems so good is that you can ask random questions and get back facts.