<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Glencora Borradaile &#187; mathworld</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.glencora.org/tag/mathworld/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.glencora.org</link>
	<description>Assistant Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Oregon State University</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:07:07 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Mathworld v. Wikipedia</title>
		<link>http://www.glencora.org/silent-glen-speaks/mathworld-v-wikipedia/</link>
		<comments>http://www.glencora.org/silent-glen-speaks/mathworld-v-wikipedia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:02:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glencora</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Silent Glen Speaks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mathworld]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wikipedia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.glencora.org/?p=258</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was a mathematics undergraduate in the MathWorld generation.  It spread like wildfire in our department.  I stopped carrying textbooks around with me &#8211; instead I could just walk into our undergraduate lab and look something up.  MathWorld was every math textbook I needed.  (A friend of mine was blocked from MathWorld after trying to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I was a mathematics undergraduate in the <a href="http://mathworld.wolfram.com/">MathWorld</a> generation.  It spread like wildfire in our department.  I stopped carrying textbooks around with me &#8211; instead I could just walk into our undergraduate lab and look something up.  MathWorld was every math textbook I needed.  (A friend of mine was blocked from MathWorld after trying to download all the pages.) We mourned <a href="http://www.ericweisstein.com/authors-rights/erics_commentary.html">the year MathWorld disappeared</a>.</p>
<p>Unlike my immediate reliance on MathWorld, I have been a slow Wikipedia adopter.  The information on MathWorld seemed more reliable that Wikipedia could ever be, as it is contributed to (exclusively?) by mathematicians.  That said, I can&#8217;t imagine Wikipedia going down for a year. (At least, not before the zombie apocalypse starts.)  I find myself more and more using Wikipedia for technical matter.  I don&#8217;t think it is solely because I am less likely to look up definitions of groups and more likely to look up definitions of complexity classes.  I think the information on Wikipedia (even for MathWorld-type entries) is richer. Wikipedia entries tend to be more pedagogical than MathWorld&#8217;s, handy now that I am teaching.</p>
<p>I still don&#8217;t trust Wikipedia, though.  It is a good, quick first reference; a source of examples.  I&#8217;m hoping to incorporate Wikipedia participation into my graduate classes once I&#8217;ve figured out this teaching thing.  Perhaps I&#8217;ll become more trusting of Wikipedia one day, but I wonder if I&#8217;ll ever rely on it.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.glencora.org/silent-glen-speaks/mathworld-v-wikipedia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
