Don't Say You Were Not Warned! Go Ask Your Doc!

satchitananda · Sep 7, 2018

Last minute preparations for the exam. I am desperately trying to catch up with vocabulary I have missed catching up with in a long time. The words seem to run faster than me ..... I try to catch them ..... I am out of breath. My chest is pounding. Waves churn and lap against the inside of my cranial wall and I suspect the cranial sutures are bursting at their seams. I rush to Wiki darling. Then I remember what I just read in the text book.

Well, this is the gist of what it says (disclaimer: not professional translation):

9 out of 10 articles in Wikipedia are erroneous. 10 of the most commonly 'searched' illnesses were selected and studied by researchers from different care centres and universities in the US. Cardio-vascular, illness, cancer of the lungs, arthritis, hypertension, back aches ..... one article for each of the illnesses and the claims made were gone through with a fine toothed comb by 10 investigators (residents in internal medicine). Pairs of them compared these claims with validated scientific literature and in 9 out of 10, errors were found.

What is scarier is that Wikipedia has become a veritable 'source' of information on health. And not just the public.
In effect, the study revealed that 47-70% of doctors and medical students admit to using it as reference. These numbers which could well be underestimated - medics may not necessarily want to admit to their penchant for lingering on the on-line encyclopedia. Of 10 selected illnesses, only the article pertaining to cranial traumas proved to be irrefutable: no notable difference was seen when compared to the validated information, so much so that it appeared to have been edited by professionals.

The methodology used did not reveal the nature of errors and discordance observed by the investigators. The claims extracted from the pages of Wikipedia were not detailed. It was impossible to verify the importance or the validity of the errors which the researchers reportedly found.

Ever since it's introduction in 2001, Wikipedia has become the most popular reference site on the internet and an inexhaustible source of information for the public. All the articles are edited by 'internauts' (skilled internet users) and every new visitor may freely modify the contents. Whence the risk of errors .....

In March 2014, the on-line encyclopedia comprised of more than 31 million articles in 285 different languages.

Original source of article: Hugo Jalinière, wwwsciencesetavenir.fr, 28 mai (may) 2014

P.S. Wiki Pidiya! Wiki Addiya! (Catch Wiki and Beat him/her up!) Oh well, maybe I can still ask Wiki darling what the matter with my cranium and its content is.

GeetaKashyap · Sep 8, 2018

This is a nice share, @satchitananda. These days it is so easy to get information on any topic of our choice and easier still to get distracted, diverted and confused with the conflicting concepts floating around with such authority! As the post says, even WIKI is not totally reliable. So take everything with a grain of salt!

satchitananda · Sep 8, 2018

So true, Geeta. In fact this is a relief to know, because one often checks out info and it is scary to read all the symptoms that are mentioned. One does not know what to believe or not to believe. So best go talk to the doc. It's not for nothing that they have taken almost a decade and years of experience to get to where they are.

Cheeniya · Sep 16, 2018

During my childhood if I wanted information on any subject, I used to ask my maternal grandma. She never told me 'I'll check with Wikipedia and tell me' On the contrary Wikipedia was built brick by brick with the information furnished by our grandparents! Wiki Patti!

jayasala42 · Sep 16, 2018

Our doctor warns us not to go near Wicki patti ,especially when we are ill.When we depended on grandma , she took responsibility if anythingwent wrong with her decision. But wwill Wickipedia come to our rescue?I feel it is better not to consult wicki especially in health matters.Many webs talk of some carcinoma or cancer as an underlining current.

Jayasala 42

Cheeniya · Sep 16, 2018

The following is from Three Men in a boat by Jerome K Jerome

"I remember going to the British Museum one day to read up the treatment for
some slight ailment of which I had a touch - hay fever, I fancy it was. I got down
the book, and read all I came to read; and then, in an unthinking moment, I idly
turned the leaves, and began to indolently study diseases, generally. I forget which
was the first distemper I plunged into - some fearful, devastating scourge, I know
- and, before I had glanced half down the list of "premonitory symptoms," it was
borne in upon me that I had fairly got it.
I sat for awhile, frozen with horror; and then, in the listlessness of despair, I again
turned over the pages. I came to typhoid fever - read the symptoms - discovered that
I had typhoid fever, must have had it for months without knowing it - wondered
what else I had got; turned up St. Vitus's Dance - found, as I expected, that I had that
too, - began to get interested in my case, and determined to sift it to the bottom, and
so started alphabetically - read up ague, and learnt that I was sickening for it, and
that the acute stage would commence in about another fortnight. Bright's disease, I
was relieved to find, I had only in a modified form, and, so far as that was concerned,
I might live for years. Cholera I had, with severe complications; and diphtheria I
seemed to have been born with. I plodded conscientiously through the twenty-six
letters, and the only malady I could conclude I had not got was housemaid's knee.'

Amica · Sep 18, 2018

satchitananda said: ↑

Oh well, maybe I can still ask Wiki darling what the matter with my cranium and its content is.
Click to expand...

No need, Satchi. WikiAmica says there's nothing wrong with you. You just need a break from exam prep. And maybe a nap.

satchitananda · Sep 18, 2018

Thanks Amica. As it happens, my exams got done and that very night I crashed with a horrible cough, fever ..... and more than a week since then, have not yet returned to work.

Amica · Sep 19, 2018

satchitananda said: ↑

Thanks Amica. As it happens, my exams got done and that very night I crashed with a horrible cough, fever ..... and more than a week since then, have not yet returned to work.
Click to expand...

Uh oh! Get well soon, Satchi. Sending healthy vibes your way.

Imani · Sep 22, 2018

Thanks for sharing this. However, I think it is concerning that someone would go to Wikipedia for advice or professional information. I like it for Movie, Music, and Celebrity Information, but for something critical I want a reputable source. I am so glad that when I was in school I learned about evaluating your source and finding a reliable one. And not only did I learn it but I try to practice it and encourage people in my life to do the same.