Death of Civilization

December 11, 2008 · Posted in General 

Wikipedia will be the death of civilization. I firmly believe that now. Seriously, it’s like a drug, and I haven’t seen any rehab clinics for it yet. Hopefully they’ll come out soon; lord knows I need it.

“Hello, my name is Matthew, and I’m a Wikiholic. I’ve been Wiki-free for two hours now.”

“Hello, Matthew. We feel your pain.”

I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s a great service, a great website. But damn, it’s addictive. Sitting there at the computer, saying “One more article,” with the same look on your face that a crack addict gets when their pipe’s running low. That’s the only difference — crack runs out eventually; Wikipedia doesn’t. And, if it does, it’s a lot easier to make your own Wikipedia article than your own crack.

Not that I’ve … uh … tried making either, or anything…

You’ve never realized how important stupid, pointless information seems until you’ve started reading a Wikipedia article on something interesting. With all due respect to the people of the nation, I never really cared much of a flip for Zimbabwe, outside of what was needed in geography class. Yesterday, I started reading Wiki’s article on the 2008 cholera outbreak (because I was bored and it was better than work), when suddenly Zimbabwe became the most interesting thing I’ve ever read about.

Of course, it’s physically impossible to read more than two paragraphs in a Wikipedia article without going on to a different article (with big thanks to who ever developed tabbed-browsing). Two clicks later and I’m reading about coffee instead of Zimbabwe. Two more clicks, and it’s John Gill, an English biblical scholar in the 1700’s. Then megachurches, then hymns, then the Greek language.

It’s better than the Kevin Bacon game…

So, if you’re ever wondering why it’s taking so long to get my next project out, just drop me a line and ask me about the History of Ancient Tunisia, or about the mating habits of the katydid. When I respond, just tell me to get back to work ;)

–Matt

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Comments

2 Responses to “Death of Civilization”

  1. Zaira Rahman on December 27th, 2008 3:39 pm

    hahaha this is so true :) I am really enjoying your blog! Good stuff man!

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  2. Zac on December 29th, 2008 11:13 pm

    Wow, laughed my way through that whole thing! Hit the nail on the head. Wikiholic & Wikicrack, two excelent new words..

    So true, thats why its so funny.

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