Ink Pen by Phil Dunlap for January 06, 2015
January 05, 2015
January 07, 2015
Transcript:
Tyr: Hey, Hamhock, whaddya know about quantum physics? Hamhock: Only what you just now said. Tyr: Well, I need to find out about it!! Hamhock: Look on the web! Tyr: "The Web"? Is that some magic talisman that will grant you the wisdom you seek, but only after exacting a terrible price!! Hamhock: Yes, but it's cheaper if you bundle it with your phone...
The internet (in particular search engines, and in particular particular Google) is very much like the oracles of old in that the more you already know about the thing you seek, the less likely you are to find it. Know the specific name of a business and are looking for its website? You’re better off trying all variations of its name-dot-com than putting the business name into Google, as you’ll get not the business itself but a million other sites offering reviews of the business, or comparisions of this business with others, or businesses that “sound like” the one you seek. On the other hand, if you have only a vague notion of what you’re looking for, the internet will often spit up serendipitous useful things you didn’t expect.
Maybe this means it’s not the internet, but you actually doing the work…