Book that summarizes knowledge in various subjects and that will be consulted by the human being
It is designated by the term of encyclopedia to that book in which it is found, as a compendium of human knowledge. An encyclopedia gathers on its pages highly specialized data, or failing that scattered, on a particular science or on several of these, which, otherwise, could not be found easily, being that it constitutes an authentic and important service to modern culture. A singular and common characteristic of most encyclopedias is that the information and knowledge are presented alphabetically, a fact that gives it great order and coherence.
Characteristics and conditions of these texts
Among the characteristics that distinguish one encyclopedic text from another are the following: conciseness, synthesis, with the aim of condensing as much information as possible; Explanatory statement in the event that the elements are opinion or, failing that, subjective, always giving priority to the rigor of the events that occurred; the amount of information will be the maximum possible; brings together a significant number of authors from the most diverse origins.
Beyond the themes that these works deal with, almost all of them meet a series of conditions that distinguish them from other proposals and that are added to those mentioned in the previous paragraph to distinguish and distinguish them.
They have a universal interest, that is, they will not only interest a specific public, and in this it has to do a lot that they do not contain local or personal issues.
The contents that they gather are of interest yesterday, today and tomorrow, this means that beyond the passage of time, their themes will interest readers, because the contents that remain current for a time do not prevail but those that interest for centuries and centuries.
The organization of the content goes from the general to the more concrete because it is intended that the work is as complete as possible and that it is not necessary for the reader to consult secondary or additional topics in other texts.
Objectivity must be a sine quanom condition, if there is an agglutination of diverse voices, they must be presented in the most objective way possible and without taking part by any of them, so as not to affect this condition or the interpretation.
As they are not primary sources of information, the source that was consulted should always be indicated.
Origin and development
A work called Encyclopedia that in some way it would be the forerunner on the subject and that it had 28 volumes, in which the ideas of the most prominent thinkers of the Enlightenment were brought together.
The man of the eighteenth century turned out to be the best recipient of this type of text since stripped of the medieval ties that had somehow curtailed his freedom of thought and expression, he turned to the consumption and reading of encyclopedias. He wanted to know everything and also question what was beyond his understanding and the encyclopedia was the best instrument to resolve this concern.
As a result of the incredible progress that new technologies have had, especially the internet, the consultation of knowledge has moved from heavy books to virtual encyclopedias, which these days abound on the internet. The main advantage that can be attributed to them is the impressive spread of knowing of any kind that they have achieved and that per se, a fact that, on the other hand, is in contrast to the lack of rigor when it comes to locating the sources and the objectivity of the data presented by some.
In any case, the trend in this world invaded by the need for information suggests that they will not stop their march and advance.
In addition to the book that contains it, the term is also used to refer to the set of scientific knowledge.
Also, the word encyclopedia is used extensively in colloquial language to refer to those people who bring together a huge knowledge, such as the encyclopedia book. "Martín is an encyclopedia of football, he remembers all the world championships and knows the life and work of all the players."
