What encyclopedia do you use?
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That being said, what do you think is the best option for purchasing a set of encyclopedia books for someone who is on a budget? How outdated can I go if I buy used? Any ideas? Thanks! [/quote]
How old you can go would depend a lot on what you're using the encyclopedia for. Biographies are one thing; science is another. So, you'd kind of have to decide why you're really wanting an encyclopedia.
To be honest, I think the Internet is, itself, the most accessible encyclopedia you can have. For example, geographical questions could be answered from sites like National Geographic. As with anything Internet, you'd want to make sure you're going to valid sites, but that doesn't take much research or effort.
If you're already paying for bandwidth, you might as well use it for all it's worth! Otherwise, you can generally find cheap encyclopedia software on eBay (check CompUSA or Best Buy as well-- they have $9.99 software that generally includes encyclopedia software). Also, keep an eye out for schools/libraries that sell off their older copies--- you can get books cheaply that way as well.
How old you can go would depend a lot on what you're using the encyclopedia for. Biographies are one thing; science is another. So, you'd kind of have to decide why you're really wanting an encyclopedia.
To be honest, I think the Internet is, itself, the most accessible encyclopedia you can have. For example, geographical questions could be answered from sites like National Geographic. As with anything Internet, you'd want to make sure you're going to valid sites, but that doesn't take much research or effort.
If you're already paying for bandwidth, you might as well use it for all it's worth! Otherwise, you can generally find cheap encyclopedia software on eBay (check CompUSA or Best Buy as well-- they have $9.99 software that generally includes encyclopedia software). Also, keep an eye out for schools/libraries that sell off their older copies--- you can get books cheaply that way as well.
Redhead
"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." C.S. Lewis
"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." C.S. Lewis
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Wikipedia is generated from user input, true, and some articles in highly political or commercial areas such as political candidates and new drugs are probably going to be biased one way or another, but for the most part Wikipedia is well-documented and relatively unbiased, and like I said before, completely up to date. Even respected encyclopedias will have bias or mistakes in some articles - the difference is that users can't submit fixes to those and see them updated on a timely basis.
Bottom line, you may have to filter Wikipedia through what you know and believe about the world, and verify its information through primary sources, but it's still the best single source for information, imho. And when you factor in its convenience, you'll look things up more often and learn more as a result.
Bottom line, you may have to filter Wikipedia through what you know and believe about the world, and verify its information through primary sources, but it's still the best single source for information, imho. And when you factor in its convenience, you'll look things up more often and learn more as a result.
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I love Wikipedia! I've gotten tons of information from there and for user-generated content, that's pretty impressive. I wouldn't hesitate to use it for homeschooling, but I wouldn't use it as my sole source. I wouldn't use any one source as my sole source - that's the beauty of homeschooling!
I've not had need for an encyclopedia yet since my kids are so young, but I know I've used Wikipedia more times than I can count.
I've not had need for an encyclopedia yet since my kids are so young, but I know I've used Wikipedia more times than I can count.
To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.
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