I’ve been feeling for a long time that one of the best ways to attain knowledge in contemporary life is through the hyperlink. I’m a clicker; I use hyperlinks constantly and people are always astounded that I’m not scared that it will give me “viruses” or lead to “porn.” My answer is always: what kind of websites are you hanging out on? Haven’t you ever heard of COMMAND + click on link (sorry to be Apple-centric… I think for PC users it’s OPTION + click on link)? Courage to click through a hyperlink that may take you into the unknown is what differentiates those technologically proficient people I know who have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the world (and want to talk about it) from those who have an encyclopaedic knowledge of their friends status updates (and only want to talk about them). For a lot of the former, Wikipedia is TEH BEST tool. Never before have we had such a utilitarian resource for learning crap about crap. Yes, the encyclopedia has been available since 1768 (for the record, my source for that date was–you guessed it–Wikipedia), but who wants to pull out a book whenever you’re curious about the basics of something, and then have to flip back and forth when something mentioned in one entries entices you to move to another?

Not to get preachy, but what’s up with all you non-Wikipedia users? While you’re obvs not supposed to use it as an academic source, it’s still an excellent place to learn and have fun too. You may even finally one-up your Dad at something. Think of the familial carnage!

But where to start to get your Wikipedia confidence up? Lists of Lists on Wikipedia is totes the answer, because it’s a curated list of the best lists of knowledge that is, in essence, crap, but is valuable nonetheless. No knowledge is bad knowledge, after all. Unless you’re getting blackmailed. Your road to dinner party, Scrabble, and nerd-dating success starts now, and all you’ve got to do is trust me–and click. 

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…Jessica Carroll is the Toronto Standard’s “Best Thing on the Internet Today” columnist. Follow her on Twitter at @jssckr.

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