Agnes & Wikipedia

AGNES and WIKIPEDIA

(We need to be open to the possibility that colleagues and even strangers have information and perspectives that may be of value to us. --Margaret Wheatley)

Agnes D'silva is 78 years old; a widow; a fine lady.
“Aamaam, with a golden heart and an enthusiasm of 16 years young", adds my Sahadharmini.
Agnes came into our lives 'accidentally', quite literally and figuratively. We didn't know her from Adams. She was walking her Pomeranian, tripped and fell in front of our gate. One look at her said that she has had a fracture in her right arm. After cajoling her pet dog deceitfully (luckily it understood our English) Agnes was rushed to the nearest hospital. X-rays confirmed our doubt and for the next few months Agnes's right hand was in plasters putting her out of action. Quite well to do, her son and daughter are both away across the 'ccccccc' (seven seas.). But that was almost a year back. As time passed, we got to know her well as a genuine social worker trying to establish a 'home' for HIV/AIDS affected poor. I of course accept quite gleefully and often shamefully with no inhibitions all her encomiums that she showers now and then on me saying " But for your steering it, the project would not have taken off; meeting the right people at the right time etc etc." I often make sure that when Agnes says these, my sahadharmini too is present because the next morning my coffee will have one extra teaspoon full helping of sugar (so sweet of her). We also helped her out to get her Medical Insurance claim in more measure than what the usual small print said in that policy.
OMG (Oh My God), I am digressing. Yesterday afternoon I got her call. Agnes is always direct. Not for her any preliminaries or exchange of pleasantries.
"Mr. V...............what is Raki? Here in this novel I am reading the hero says he has had a few glasses of Raki and he felt good! Is it some kind of a health drink?” asked Agnes.
"Umm. You got me there. An area which I am not too familiar being not a friend of Bacchus. But give me a little time and I will come back to you." I said.
“What a fauji are you? You don’t drink; you don’t smoke and you call yourself a retired VICE Marshal” admonished the impatient Agnes.
After a few minutes I returned her call and gave her a complete low down on RAKI.--a Turkish drink which when mixed with cold water turns white like milk--a few glasses is enough to send you to the nether world leaving you sweating; hence they even call it Lion’s Milk"
"Mr. V.... where did you get this. It is not in Dictionary. Nor is it in Thesaurus??" said Agnes rather surprised.
"WIKIPEDIA" I said
"What is that?" Agnes asked.
"For that you better come here" I said.
When Agnes sat in front of the compu and grasped its mind boggling power, she insisted then and there that we place an order for her own compu of minimum configuration.
“Agnes, Soon you will be a holy chutzpah (better than your padre) and even a specialist in verbigeration and refrigeration of knowledge.” I laughed.
“Oh Jesus……” cooed Agnes “I can’t understand a word of what you are saying” and left after a friendly wave with her Pomeranian tugging at her.
EPILOGUE
For me one of the many extraordinary stories of the Internet age is that of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit. This radical and rapidly growing publication, which includes I am told close to 4 million entries, is now a much-used resource.
"One of the biggest problems of the digital divide is the cost of access to information," says Jimmy Wales, 40, the visionary founder of Wikipedia. "We seek to make that cost as close to zero as possible." That said, Wikipedia's accuracy is often questioned: if anyone and every one can edit entries, how do users know if it is as legitimate as established sources such as Encyclopaedia Britannica? An expert-led investigation carried out by Nature Magazine -- the first to use peer review to compare Wikipedia and Britannica -- suggests that, for science articles, their accuracy levels are quite comparable. Unbelievably so.
So any lessons here? Or is it just a blabber?
Well. It is just that in the next interaction I have with any one be it even a stranger, I shall try and discover the value in his or her perspective.

Warm rgds
V V R
03 May 007.