Malcom Gladwell wrote about this identical issue in the New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/10/10/getting-in). The concepts applied especially to Jews, and to all the Ivy-League institutions. The problem the Ivys were addressing was that if they based their admissions criteria on grades and test scores alone, Harvard would be nearly all Jewish and Asian. But those students, even with their high scores, would not achieve in life any better, or even as well, as students selected in part based on subjective traits such as "manliness." The Ivys have perfected a system that identifies future high contributors to society, and convinces them to enroll at their institutions. That is one explanation of why if you are admitted to Harvard, it makes no difference to your future success whether you enroll: You have been identified as a future high achiever. (Apologies if this appears as a duplicat post -- I am new to posting on ./)

Khyber, I can tell by the expletive in your subject line that you are very passionate about this issue. Wikipedia has in the past shut down anonymous editing rights to several IP address ranges that are known to be from the US and Russian legislatures. It would go a long way to lowering the hoax rate, and spin from controlling interests, if anonymous editing rights were blocked for everyone.

The article headline, "An Accidental Wikipedia Hoax," implies that the EJ Dickson's deliberate hoax was accidental. The story later shows that the "accident" was how she found out the hoax had been a success.

1) No matter what assignments you are given, make sure you understand what is required before you start work. 2) If at first you think you are being given tasks that are beneath your skill level, hit them out of the park nevertheless. These early successes will establish your brand as someone who can be trusted with assignments, and that will lead to more challenging ones. 3) If you are working on a team and you have a choice of seating locations, choose the one that will place you closest to your teammates. You want the lowest barrier to communication you can get as you come up to speed. Your own office, or working from home, will mean you will come up to speed slower and your career progress will be slowed. 4) Ask your teammates for help when you need it, but do not ask them to do your work. Remember or document their answers so you never have to ask the same question twice.