Editing Citogenesis

'''Citogenesis''' is a process where factual errors are introduced to Wikipedia, then are cited by authors, leading to a feedback loop where references are created that can be cited by Wikipedia to keep the error in the encyclopedia.  Because many so-called editors lack the expertise of editors in the print media, the process is rampant.

==Examples==
In the casino gambling game of "21," Edward O. Thorp in the seminal 1962 and 1966 "Beat the Dealer" introduced the concept of "striking when the deck gets hot."  In this technique, a player stands behind the other players at the "21" table and waits until the number of ten-value cards and aces exceeds the number of low-value cards.  With the deck now "hot," he sits and wagers a large bet.

A "21" expert, John Ferguson adopted the name "Stanford Wong" because of his being a Stanford University graduate and because of the mystique of an Oriental name.  Ferguson re-invented the concept in the 1990's and termed it "Wonging."  This historical misrepresentation has been propagated throughtout wikipedia.

In astronomy, when comets come close to the sun, their gases and dust are released as the heat of the sun melts the ice in which they are imbedded.  This results in a low density cloud of dust surrounding the sun whose results are visible in reflected light, such as in the gegenschein.  

Wikipedia has created an entire species of astronomical articles, including creation of terms and multiple talk pages, on the subject.  "Cosmic dust" and so on have become wikipedia-generated subjects of inquiry, when in fact professional astronomers know the manifestations are simply cometary dust debris.  The process results from the lack of professional astronomers contributing to wikipedia, the contributions being made by home-grown stargazers without the requisite knowledge of physics and higher mathematics.

== External link == 
* [http://xkcd.com/978/ Citogenesis]

[[Category: Wikipedia]]