[WikiEN-l] Docs look to Wikipedia for condition info: Manhattan Research

[Andrew Gray]

2009/5/24 Delirium <delirium at hackish.org>:

> I agree with the first part (serious consequences of incorrect
> information), but I don't see how why dosage information is
> unencyclopedic. Information on typical quantities used for any chemical
> compound with practical applications is a perfectly expected thing to
> include in an article.

...especially given that we include it for all sorts of chemicals that
you *don't* put in your mouth. Take a look at the article for a
chemical element, for example - a handy table with Young's modulus,
specific heat capacity, isotope half-lives, the whole lot; the infobox
for its compounds is less detailed but still pretty comprehensive.
Moving away from chemicals, take a look at, say, the article on an
asteroid, with comprehensive details of its orbital parameters and
composition, or a country, where the infobox gives details right down
to the telephone code.

I think we're kidding ourselves a bit if we say that these numbers -
the sort of thing you'd expect to find in a specialised reference work
and of little or no immediate use to the casual reader - are vaguely
encyclopedic, but comments like "is generally given in 10-50mg doses"
are somehow definitely not.

-- 
- Andrew Gray
  andrew.gray at dunelm.org.uk