Wikawhat?

Today in class we discussed the significance (or lack thereof), of "the free encyclopedia," Wikipedia. I've been in college for three years now and I haven't been allowed to cite Wikipedia for any writing assignments since I was in high school. I have grown accustomed to using Wikis just to get a general idea of the multitude of random topics that pervade my mind during 4 A.M. procrastination binges while writing essays on autopilot. Seriously, have you ever found yourself awake at some absurd hour wondering what Floccinaucinihilipilification means? Maybe it's just me, but I would never even think to entrust my grade in Rhetorical Criticism to the common man's Encyclopedia Britannica (No offense to the aforesaid man). I mean, are there still people out there who don't realize Wikipedia IS NOT a reviewed by scholars, but rather geeks, nerds, web junkies, PR firms, and Vice Presidential nominees. It is interesting, however, to live in a world where you realize how many people think like you do and you can see it just by surfing the Internet. Wikis are part of the digital thread that is bringing us all much closer together.