--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Encyclopedias are finished. All…" description: "\"Encyclopedias are finished. All encyclopedias combined, including the redoubtable Britannica, have already been surpassed by the exercise in groupthink..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/james-gleick-2623_been_encyclopedias-are-finished-all-encyclope_748518.jpg" --- # Encyclopedias are finished. All encyclopedias combined… ![“Encyclopedias are finished. All encyclopedias combined, including the redoubtable Britannica, have already been surpassed by the exercise in groupthink known as Wikipedia.” quote by James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/james-gleick-2623_been_encyclopedias-are-finished-all-encyclope_748518.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/james-gleick-2623_been_encyclopedias-are-finished-all-encyclope_748518.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/james-gleick-2623_been_encyclopedias-are-finished-all-encyclope_748518.jpg) > “Encyclopedias are finished. All encyclopedias combined, including the redoubtable Britannica, have already been surpassed by the exercise in groupthink known as Wikipedia.” [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Traditional encyclopedias are obsolete because Wikipedia’s crowd‑sourced model provides faster, broader, and constantly updated knowledge. **In simple terms:** Printed reference works are outdated due to Wikipedia. Key Takeaway Rely on dynamic, collaborative sources. Themes knowledge technology collaboration obsolescence Mood critical inquisitive cautious Type informational reflective analytical When to use this quote - academic research - school projects - quick fact‑checking - media literacy Key Concepts crowdsourcing information democratization digital disruption Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess the reliability of crowd‑sourced information? - What are the risks of relying solely on Wikipedia? A Different Perspective Wikipedia may contain inaccuracies and bias; verification is still needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Encyclopedias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encyclopedias/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) ## Related quotes > [“Cos if it's encyclopedias we've got enough, like, information... and if it's God, you've got the wrong house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/cos-if-it-s-encyclopedias-we-ve-got-enough-like-information-and-if-it/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [When you know too much information and you acquire it too easily, you tend to either use it in disagreeable ways, out of vanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/when-you-know-too-much-information-and-you-acquire-it-too-easily-you/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [The Internet gives us everything and forces us to filter it not by the workings of culture, but with our own brains. This risks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-internet-gives-us-everything-and-forces-us-to-filter-it-not-by/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I'm a book guy first, and my education came from two encyclopedias. One was an encyclopedia of health, so I became morbidly obsessed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-m-a-book-guy-first-and-my-education-came-from-two-encyclopedias-one/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Elvis is my religion. 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