As a kid, encyclopedias are great sources of broad information. You probably don't need to go any deeper than they do. As an adult, encyclopedias are a great s

As a kid, encyclopedias are great sources of broad information. You probably don't need to go any deeper than they do. As an adult, encyclopedias are a great starting point, but cannot do anything more than scratch the surface of any subject they cover. That's just the way it is, I think. The key advantage that printed encyclopedias have over Wikipedia is that the experts writing the articles are chosen by editors and have to be able to demonstrate broad and authoritative knowledge of the subject, before they're allowed to put those words on paper. Not so with Wikipedia.