Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why are there so many excerpts from Wikipedia?
A. There are many subjects that are important to understand which have a long history, and about which others have already written, in a clear and comprehensive way. It would be presumptuous of me (and probably impossible) to write a completely original entry for every important subject.
Also, in many cases, there are subjects about which I am interested but do not yet know very much. In these cases, the Wikipedia excerpt is a placeholder until I can learn more on my own and perhaps contribute something original.
Finally, there are nearly five million articles in English in Wikipedia, while this website covers only several hundred subjects. I believe it serves a curatorial function–pulling out from Wikipedia the most essential and foundational knowledge, which is in itself useful.
Q. There are a lot of excerpts from books on this site. Isn’t that a violation of copyright?
A. There is an exception in copyright law called fair use. If the portion that is copied is credited to the creator, is small relative to the entire work, and if it is not done for personal gain, and does not impair the sales of the copyrighted work, it is permitted under the fair use rule. On this website, every book excerpt is credited to its author, and linked to a page on Amazon.com where it can be purchased.
However, if any author objects to the display of his or her work on this website, I will gladly and immediately take it down.