By Megan McArdle
The beginning of the end for the authoritative print encyclopedia was this 2005 Nature study, which found that in entries about science topics Wikipedia contained an average of 3.86 mistakes per article–but that Britannica contained 2.92 mistakes per article, putting the “free encyclopedia anyone can edit” within earlobe flicking distance of the shelf-bending gold standard.
Back in the ’90s, before we had kids, I bought a set of the Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge a volume or two at a time at the supermarket. This was in the hope that they could use them for school! Well, today our children are always trolling for info online, and the only time they look at the encyclopedia–which I still like–is when our Internet connection is down!
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
A gripping, hard-hitting overview of issues confronting the spread of the world's most global faith. Includes discussion questions and suggestions for further reading.
A completely new way to understand the message and meaning of the world's greatest teacher. Includes discussion questions, suggestions for further reading, and a complete index of the questions.
