Let's talk about the encyclopedia. . .

[Guestx]

My folks discontinued them because me and my brothers were older by that point, and out of the house. Plus the internet.

When they were moving to a different location they were going to let them go, and asked if any of us would like to keep them instead. My brothers declined, I said I'm taking those shits. I wrote mad papers in Grade/JHS/HS off the strength of those encyclopedias, and they're still great to read through today.

The year books are basically the year in review. An annual supplement. They include special reports, news updates, dictionary additions and such. Sometimes they'll also include something random, like some interesting information about what took place 100 years ago from that particular year.

Oh, interesting. I thought the year books were essentially updates to existing articles. So like, if something significant happens in the world of Karate, for instance, then they would write out what's essentially an extension of the last published version of the Karate article from the main encyclopedia. Or if Zimbabwe elects a new president since the last edition of the encyclopedia came out then this would be reflected in the yearbook as an update to the Zimbabwe article.

So it's not like that?

 

[BearGrounds]

Oh, interesting. I thought the year books were essentially updates to existing articles. So like, if something significant happens in the world of Karate, for instance, then they would write out what's essentially an extension of the last published version of the Karate article from the main encyclopedia. Or if Zimbabwe elects a new president since the last edition of the encyclopedia came out then this would be reflected in the yearbook as an update to the Zimbabwe article.

So it's not like that?

They always include a section for the year in review, so any significant event that occurred during that year will probably be briefly mentioned. But they also can include revised articles and other random shit. It's basically a yearly supplement to the set, covering a wide range of topics. I tried to take a picture of the table of contents from '95 and 2G for you, but it came out a bit blurry and hard to read, so it basically isn't even worth posting.

A couple topics from the 95 Yearbook:

ARMED FORCES
The World Remembers D - Day

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Regulating The Information Highway

A couple from the 2G edition:

ASTRONOMY
Astronomy Through a Millennium

MIDDLE EAST
A Century of Struggle

 

[Guestx]

They always include a section for the year in review, so any significant event that occurred during that year will probably be briefly mentioned. But they also can include revised articles and other random shit. It's basically a yearly supplement to the set, covering a wide range of topics. I tried to take a picture of the table of contents from '95 and 2G for you, but it came out a bit blurry and hard to read, so it basically isn't even worth posting.

A couple topics from the 95 Yearbook:

ARMED FORCES
The World Remembers D - Day

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Regulating The Information Highway

A couple from the 2G edition:

ASTRONOMY
Astronomy Through a Millennium

MIDDLE EAST
A Century of Struggle

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

I still would like to have a print encyclopedia set, and as I mentioned in the OP World Book is still offering one. I just wish they were easier to update. Like it would be cool if every year you could just send the old set back and they'd send you the new one.

 

[BearGrounds]

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

I still would like to have a print encyclopedia set, and as I mentioned in the OP World Book is still offering one. I just wish they were easier to update. Like it would be cool if every year you could just send the old set back and they'd send you the new one.

I hear you. But I fear the heavy nostalgia would not allow me to do such a thing. I bet if I were to search through enough pages/volumes, I can find some food stains from years back when I was just a carefree wee lad, writing papers and munching at the same time.

 

[Guestx]

I hear you. But I fear the heavy nostalgia would not allow me to do such a thing. I bet if I were to search through enough pages/volumes, I can find some food stains from years back when I was just a carefree wee lad, writing papers and munching at the same time.

Ha. Well for an old classic set like that, I hear you.

A World Book set right now goes for $999. That just seems a little steep when you can't upgrade them easily to the newest edition.

 

[Guestx]

Wow, look what an unopened 2010 (the final year they were printed) Britannica set goes for. . .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2010-Encycl...169673?hash=item41aaaa6bc9:g:lv0AAOSwt7pXNPg3

 

[Guestx]

It's the update that no one asked for (but that hopefully some people will find interesting anyway). . .

Apparently World Book, the last English-language encyclopedia that is still being printed, just hit their 100th year in operation and has released a 100 Year Commemorative Edition.

That price, though. Damn.

 

[Jermei]

When the digital world ends in say 1000 years or so, or less, (think post-apocalyptic) the only written history we'll have is the last edition of the encyclopedia series. All the data on the internet won't mean jack shit, just books, or the Egyptian hieroglyphics...

 

[Guestx]

When the digital world ends in say 1000 years or so, or less, (think post-apocalyptic) the only written history we'll have is the last edition of the encyclopedia series. All the data on the internet won't mean jack shit, just books, or the Egyptian hieroglyphics...

You actually bring up a point I was just thinking about last night. If we got hit by an EMP bomb or something else happened that knocked out the grid for a substantial period of time, other than people, books will be our only source of knowledge.

In such a situation, a strong general knowledge source like an encyclopedia set would be incredibly valuable. Think about how much we use Wikipedia every day. Granted, Wikipedia has the added benefit of being continuously updated on an up-to-the-minute basis, making it somewhat different from the traditional encyclopedia, but it just goes to show how important encyclopedias are.

 

[Guestx]

 

[greygoose]

I remember having a pocket one for when I played Where in the World is Carmen San Diego on dos back in the day. And of course

 

[Agent Mulder's Hair]

I have an old Britannica set from probably the late 80's. I loved 'em as a kid and I'm glad I still have them.

One thing that strikes me as odd are those prices listed in the OP. $1600 or $900 for a set? That's insane! They can't make up for lack of profits in recent years by jacking the prices up, that'll never work.

But I'm glad I've held onto mine since possibly they may be worth some money one of these days. Even if they aren't, I think it's only smart to have something tangible around in case the power grid ever fails.

 

[Guestx]

One thing that strikes me as odd are those prices listed in the OP. $1600 or $900 for a set? That's insane! They can't make up for lack of profits in recent years by jacking the prices up, that'll never work.

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. As I mentioned in the OP the only company still printing their encyclopedias instead of going all-digital is World Book.

Right now you can pick up their 2018 set for $899:

https://www.worldbook.com/world-book-encyclopedia-2018

I actually would like to own a set but damn that is a lot to pay. How about $299 or something more reasonable?

Still though, it's good to see that SOMEONE is still issuing a print edition. I can't help but wonder when World Book is going to call it quits and just focus on their digital offerings. That will be a sad day because there is literally no one else left at this point, at least in the English-language market.

But I'm glad I've held onto mine since possibly they may be worth some money one of these days. Even if they aren't, I think it's only smart to have something tangible around in case the power grid ever fails.

Yeah, if I could pick up a set for a reasonable price that was just a few years old then I would definitely do it. Would just be cool to have around the house.

 

[BEER]

I think I still have a full set of World Book collecting dust at my parents' house. I remember, even when we first got internet, I would always go to the books for information. Slowly, but surely, that faded as information became more thoroughly available online.

 

[Guestx]

I think I still have a full set of World Book collecting dust at my parents' house. I remember, even when we first got internet, I would always go to the books for information. Slowly, but surely, that faded as information became more thoroughly available online.

It's amazing what a beast Wikipedia has turned into. I read earlier that it has about 5.5 million individual articles right now, whereas the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica has about 120,000. That's a massive difference, obviously.

I still have quality concerns about Wikipedia, though. While I've seen studies that say it's improved drastically and is generally thought of as a pretty accurate resource in a lot of ways, I still regularly run into articles that clearly need a lot of work to get up to par. And that's not even to mention the vandalism, as well as the ideologically-motivated slant that some articles get struck by.

Wikipedia is a great resource just because of how fucking big it is and how quickly it gets updated--it's very unique in some key ways--but in terms of TRUST I would still trust a traditional encyclopedia like Britannica (whether print or online) over Wikipedia.

 

[thetruth2709]

Growing up I had an encyclopedia on a bookshelf in my house....fuck man I grew up in a time where you couldnt google shit.... how did they do it? like wow you think the amount of ignorance our parents had about simple things when nowadays you can obtain quick information about anything.... I dont think this knowledge has helped humanity as a whole though..I see more stupid people today than before google existed....makes you wonder

 

[Guestx]

Growing up I had an encyclopedia on a bookshelf in my house....fuck man I grew up in a time where you couldnt google shit.... how did they do it? like wow you think the amount of ignorance our parents had about simple things when nowadays you can obtain quick information about anything.... I dont think this knowledge has helped humanity as a whole though..I see more stupid people today than before google existed....makes you wonder

I think all of this access to information has lead to an overwhelming sense of information overload.

I get that in a lot of ways it has made things easier, but on the other hand I'm not sure that it's good for our collective psyche. The amount of information we have access to seems unmanageable at times, which can lead to a kind of depression.