Most parents would be thrilled just for their child to read the encyclopedia, never mind to be correcting mistakes in one:
A schoolboy has uncovered several mistakes in the latest edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica - regarded by readers as an authority on everything. Lucian George, 12, from north London, found five errors on two of his favourite subjects - central Europe and wildlife - and wrote to complain.
The book's editor wrote back thanking him for "pointing out several errors and misleading statements". A Britannica spokesman said the company was "grateful".
Lucian, who attends Highgate Junior School, spends several hours a week reading through the encyclopaedia's 32 volumes. One evening, he discovered a reference stating that the town of Chotyn, in which two battles between the Poles and the Ottoman Empire were fought, lies in Moldova. Lucian, whose mother is Polish, disagreed, saying it was in Ukraine.
He was right.
His father, Gabriel George, told BBC News: "Lucian told me he had found a mistake. Then, a few days later, he found another. Then there was another.
"By the time he had found five, I said to him that he should write to the editors to complain about it."
Father George hastens to add that his son is perfectly normal, interspersing bouts of reading the 32-volume encyclopedia with Playstation and Eastenders. But why should he protest? Any kid who not only devours the Encyclopaedia Britannica but catches errors in it should be proud to not be just like all the other kids.
Posted by kswygert at January 26, 2005 04:58 PM