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The invention machine

7 pointsby rglovejoyalmost 16 years ago

1 comment

madairalmost 16 years ago
The opening presumption, that people are only interested in the answer, is IMHO wrong. But that's just a gut feeling, I can't prove it. But here's my thinking anyway:<p>(1) It's a presumption that people are only interested in the destination. Perhaps people think they are only interested in the destination, but the reality is, we do often enjoy the journey too. And maybe the journey is important even when we don't enjoy it. Sure, sometimes it really is the answer we want, like when we ask Google what's "17 meters in feet", but I think that's only in some cases.<p>(2) Getting only an answer, or even a range of possible answers within a set of possible meanings to the question, is like saying there's only black and white, or at least, very few shades of gray. The glut of potential "answers" we get back from a Google search is a feature, not a bug, when we consider that nothing really is black or white when it comes down to it. Is an engine that's apparently so "smart" just predisposed to more systemic bias?<p>(3) And why do we presume that it's a question we're asking in the first place. I think we're often really embarking on a journey when we search, and purposefully so, without a specific destination planned.<p>I know I'm simplifying down the point of the article, but I just wanted to say this because I've been seeing a fair bit of this holy grail of answers talk lately, and I think it's a bit one-side and simplistic.