It’s not a fact about the world but a definition of a somewhat common word. One can say “30 microseconds (30 millionths of a second)” or “hippos are herbivorous (plant-eating)” without a citation because any dictionary will do. In fact, including the citation makes a science journalist seem incompetent as it suggests they needed to look up the word.
They cite Wikipedia for the definition of "microsecond’…
What’s wrong with citing Wikipedia for factual things like this?
It’s not a fact about the world but a definition of a somewhat common word. One can say “30 microseconds (30 millionths of a second)” or “hippos are herbivorous (plant-eating)” without a citation because any dictionary will do. In fact, including the citation makes a science journalist seem incompetent as it suggests they needed to look up the word.
You shouldn’t cite wikipedia…