Bias ingrained

It's amazing how stereotypes and bias are so natural to us that we use them, even in prominent magazines like the New Yorker, without question. Maybe the meme is so strong we can't help ourselves. It's also interesting to note that while stereotypes of certain groups are shunned by many, these same individuals will make stereotypical comments about other groups without thinking. For example, the New Yorker thinks nothing of saying in the Wikipedia article, "the Germans, champions of thoroughness" or refer to "devious Frenchman, Pierre Bayle." Can't a Frenchman be thorough and a German devious.

When we examine any source of information, we need to recognize that there is a Point of View and that the individual's own sense of what is right or wrong, their biases will be a filter for the information. With Wikipedia, unlike traditional reference guides, there is the advantage of have thousands of filters instead of a narrow few.