Encyclopedias in 2010, and in 2008

Neatorama posts a reference to the film 2010, which includes a scene featuring “SAL 9000,” a computer similar to “HAL 9000″ from the original 2001. In the film, made in 1984, SAL is asked to define the word “Phoenix” and responds, “There are 26 references in the standard encyclopedia.”

Well, our reference resources in 2008 far exceed those of the producers of the film. The Wikipedia entry for Phoenix currently lists 166 distinct references to choose from.