<P> Some very few Britannica - appointed contributors are mistaken . A notorious instance from the Britannica's early years is the rejection of Newtonian gravity by George Gleig, the chief editor of the 3rd edition (1788--1797), who wrote that gravity was caused by the classical element of fire . The Britannica has also staunchly defended a scientific approach to cultural topics, as it did with William Robertson Smith's articles on religion in the 9th edition, particularly his article stating that the Bible was not historically accurate (1875). </P> <P> The Britannica has received criticism, especially as editions become outdated . It is expensive to produce a completely new edition of the Britannica, and its editors delay for as long as fiscally sensible (usually about 25 years). For example, despite continuous revision, the 14th edition became outdated after 35 years (1929--1964). When American physicist Harvey Einbinder detailed its failings in his 1964 book, The Myth of the Britannica, the encyclopaedia was provoked to produce the 15th edition, which required 10 years of work . It is still difficult to keep the Britannica current; one recent critic writes, "it is not difficult to find articles that are out - of - date or in need of revision", noting that the longer Macropædia articles are more likely to be outdated than the shorter Micropædia articles . Information in the Micropædia is sometimes inconsistent with the corresponding Macropædia article (s), mainly because of the failure to update one or the other . The bibliographies of the Macropædia articles have been criticized for being more out - of - date than the articles themselves . </P> <P> In 2010 an inaccurate entry about the Irish civil war was discussed in the Irish press following a decision of the Department of Education and Science to pay for online access . </P> <P> Speaking of the 3rd edition (1788--1797), Britannica's chief editor George Gleig wrote that "perfection seems to be incompatible with the nature of works constructed on such a plan, and embracing such a variety of subjects ." In March 2006, the Britannica wrote, "we in no way mean to imply that Britannica is error - free; we have never made such a claim ." The sentiment is expressed by its original editor, William Smellie: </P>

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