Wikipedia is the most underrated creation of the technology era.

While everyone is busy praising ChatGPT, I thought I’d pay tribute to the good old Wikipedia. Every year I observe a colorful bandwagon announcing a new world-changing tech to be added to our already technology-filled lives. Metaverse! Blockchain! Crypto! Artificial intelligence!

In the meantime, Wikipedia quietly stays in our lives, like a wise parent who we often forget but go back to unmistakably when we need advice. And we take it for granted.

I certainly use Wikipedia every day, and so do my kids.

Two random examples from yesterday — not that they are special in any way. I was on a long road trip and listen to a lot of music. I love all pop music from all decades and genres. In recent weeks I’ve been running and listening to … Miley Cyrus. I think her latest album, Endless Summer Vacation, is fantastic. The song Handstand is so atmospheric that it’s already in my top favorite twenty songs of all time. Where did I go to satisfy my curiosity about the album and scan the familiar section “Critical Reception?” Wikipedia.

The second example is grimmer. I found the stabbing of Bob Lee in San Francisco earlier this month very disturbing. Of course, any murder is disturbing, but something about this crime stood out. Maybe it’s the terrifying video footage of Lee’s final moments, or maybe because it happened in San Franciso. I never lived in the city but spent several years in the Bay area. Yesterday the police announced they…