So, this week while reading our textbook for class, I noticed one part of the book that used the word "meme", and it had an asterisk (*) next to it which lead to a note at the bottom that read:

"*meme - see Wikipedia on this controversial term."

Not only did I find amusement in the fact that the word "meme" was featured in my textbook (I automatically assumed it meant internet meme, but as I read on I realized this was not the case), I got directed to go on Wikipedia to learn something by a textbook. What? I mean, I understand that this is a media textbook, so it can be a bit lax on what it uses as sources for these kinds of things. But really? I find this so fascinating. I completely respect the book, I just have never been directed to Wiki something so forwardly in the academic world.  I mean, It's no secret that we all have used Wikipedia in one way or another to do a research paper or a simple homework assignment, but it is usually frowned upon in my experiences so I tend to try to avoid it as much as possible unless I need quick clarification on something simple that doesn't need a citation.

I guess my point in all of this is that this is once again a reflection on what the world has become in terms of technology and our insane dependence on it. The book didn't say, "go look the word up in a dictionary, or in the back of the book in our glossary," it directed us to an internet source. It makes sense, though, because they directed us readers to a source that would have probably the most thorough definition that could be found with minimal effort.

I think the funniest part about all of this is that I actually related to our textbook, because I probably would have done the exact same thing if someone asked me what a meme was (in the internet sense, at least).