Archive:Stories: Difference between revisions

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+{{cquote|As a teenager, I was constantly dragging my parents to the local library in search of good quality books on science, electronics, assembly language, and computer programming...topics I was deeply interested in. The search for good information was tedious and rarely productive.  I rapidly exhausted what the local library contained (which was almost nothing) and then resorted to transfer requests from other libraries which took weeks to arrive.  Often the material I did manage to get was over my head or lacked enough introduction to really be useful.  At the time (~1982-85), teachers and school were little or no help in these subjects.
+I didn't realize then how valuable that hard fought knowledge was...but it is now a profession for me and what I learned on my own at age 15 is worth more than anything I learned in college or grad school.  That self-reliant, self-teaching process is still a part of me, and Wikipedia is the perfect compliment.  The pace of learning with access to Wikipedia is exponentially faster than before. I can not place a value on it.
+Learning in an un-supportive environment can be tedious, frustrating, but ultimately quite rewarding if one persists long enough.  Wikipedia is the ultimate tool of the self-starter.  }}
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 {{cquote|Wikipedia is the best first source of data for me and my kids. My son is always peppering me with questions, and wikipedia's ever-growing and usually accurate and up-to-date information about the topics that come into our minds. Thanks for being their generation's World Book Encyclopedia, only better.  }}