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Ah, the Internet. It’s one of those things that regularly inspires awe in me, even though I spend several hours a day interacting with it (both professionally and recreationally).
But with such an immense amount of information, it’s difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. While there are many fantastic websites chock full of accurate data and intelligent ideas, there are probably 100 times more that are pretty much useless. A sad fact, but a fact nonetheless. Which is why it’s so important, if you spend any amount of time poking around the web, that you have a few oases - diamonds in the rough, if you will.
In my many, many hours of perusing the Internet, I’ve come across my fair share of websites. I’ve selected a few that I consider to be the least likely to rot your brain (but be warned, all of these can very easily rob you of an entire afternoon if you’re not careful).
- How Stuff Works - Just like the name implies, this is a site dedicated to explaining the inner-workings of things that we come in contact with every day (and a whole mess of things we’ve never seen nor heard of). Wondering about the internal combustion engine? How about the Internet itself? From televisions to tattoos, this site is a gold mine of useful information.
- Merriam Webster - Yeah, yeah, I know, just a dictionary, right? Well, perhaps, but it’s one of those places that I visit almost on a daily basis. The search functionality is pretty great, and many of the words you’re looking up have a nice little sound file you can play to hear the correct pronunciation! Definitely the “sleeper” of the list, but spending a couple of minutes a day there will grow your vocabulary like you wouldn’t believe.
- Project Gutenberg - Probably the least known among those in this list, it has a gigantic collection of free electronic books (ebooks) that you can read on your computer, Palm device, whatever you’d like. A great way to get acquainted with some classic literature, and did I mention it’s free?
- MIT Open Courseware - Not being the sharpest knife in the drawer, I’d have a pretty uphill battle if I wanted to attend MIT. Well, thanks to their generosity and willingness to share their knowledge with the world, you can read through course materials, lectures, even experience audio and video from the classroom. All for the price of a hot cup of jack squat. Run, don’t walk - especially you science geeks!
- Metafilter - A “community weblog” that features all manner of topics relevant to today’s world. Politics, art, culture, technology - this one really runs the gamut. It also features a podcast, as well as my personal favorite section, Ask Metafilter (or AskMeFi, for those in the know). Works just like a discussion forum - you ask a question, and the “hive mind” will, generally, answer. Take a gander at the variety of questions that are asked and you’ll begin to understand how I can easily wile away a couple hours there.
- Wikipedia - Pretty much the grand-daddy of all informational websites, this one probably doesn’t require much explanation. Over 2.2 million articles as I write this, and it’s updated and refined almost constantly by a community of dedicated staff and volunteers who make sure things stay in ship shape. If you want a little extra bang for your non-buck, check out the mailing list that will deliver that day’s Featured Article right into your inbox. Perfect for scanning while you’re having your morning coffee at your desk. And don’t even get me started on the insane cross-referencing…
I’m sure I’m only scratching the surface here. Where do you like to fill up on the smarts? Got a favorite site? Let me know in the comments!
Technorati Tags: intelligence, education, metafilter, wikipedia, MIT, dictionary
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22 Responses to “6 Websites That Will Certainly Make You Smarter”
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As a proud ‘Viner, I ask, where is Newsvine? True, the discussion gets a little hot and heavy sometimes, but it’s the megamall of news sites, and a lot of great news and social commentary is posted there. It’s even in the tagline: “Get Smarter Here.” And I have learned a lot from the site.
Thanks for the links!
Do Metafilter and Wikipedia really make you smarter?
I wouldn’t trust either on any controversial topic, and that makes me skeptical about the more mundane stuff.
“Hive Minds” have their limitations, and often demonstrate where “common sense” isn’t so common.
[...] 6 Websites That Will Certainly Make You Smarter With links, of course. On the Cranking Widgets Blog. (tags: resources Web2.0 web education) [...]
Sure wikipedia isn’t guaranteed to be 100% correct, but all the correct info is worth the possible incorrect stuff you might come across.
dude, wikipedia isn’t a reliable source of information. ANYONE can edit the information. And to prove my point i am going to search and edit Doom 3 on wikipedia and make Big bird the main character. Check it out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_3
== Story == Mental-Origami
[edit] Premise
Similar to the story of the original Doom, the game focuses on an anonymous marine named Big Bird who is transferred to an extraterrestrial base on a routine mission.
GGKTHXBYE
Mental-Origami
(Omniscient)
@Mental-Origami
The bathwater called, it’s wondering how often to feed the baby.
Honestly, the out-of-hand dismissal of Wikipedia as a reliable source of information based on the fact that it can be edited by anyone is, in my mind, illogical. You’re assuming that because you can change the Doom 3 page (which, interestingly enough, has been corrected as of this writing) that all of the information is suspect? This makes the assumption that information not editable by everyone is somehow more accurate, which is clearly false.
I’ll explore the websites you metinoned above. thank you for sharing.
Try http://www.ted.com/
Smartest people on the planet give you a 20 minute presentation
I usually love to research on wkipedia
One of my favorite websites, it’s been around forever, ad free (odd because it may be so unknown), yet keeps growing) and simply awesome reference.
http://www.martindalecenter.com/
Librivox is good as well; it’s a site offering free mp3’s of literature like ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner for free. Unfortunately, it’s all volunteer readers, so the areas are a bit spotty.
Instructables.com is pretty good. Its a community of people who like to make stuff and show how others can make them.
http://www.TED.com
For vocabulary, I would say freerice.com is much more fun and interesting than a dictionary.
Source information regardless of where you find it. Not trusting wikopedia because of user content while trusting the Britannica people strikes me as elitest and as stated before, illogical.
Cool list of links! Thanks
Knowledge: a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable.
Wisdom: you don’t put tomatoes in fruit salad.
Knowledge: knowing a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable.
Wisdom: knowing not to put them in a fruit salad.
Ok, for the dude who wrote Wikipedia is not a reliable source of info…
If your writing a 30 page essay in college or university or your doing a masters or doctorate, well duh! don’t use it!
But let me tell you from personal experience, its the best site for fast info that will help you think of sources, ideas, or anything else!
Its not credible, of course but its a very powerful tool to broaden you horizon!
Also, why would you want to look at wikipedia for Doom 3 info?
Cheers!
Ok, for the dude who wrote Wikipedia is not a reliable source of info…
If your writing a 30 page essay in college or university or your doing a masters or doctorate, well duh! don’t use it!
But let me tell you from personal experience, its the best site for fast info that will help you think of sources, ideas, or anything else!
Its not credible, of course but its a very powerful tool to broaden you horizon!
Cheers!
This is great, but I would argue that you should list websites which teach people things to do offline where they can learn the best.