I Google everything • Hacker News Board

Re: I Google everything

#61

Post by diminoten » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:04 PM UTC

K2h wrote: post #55

I know taking issue with Einstien is not a good idea - but I'll do it anyway. Learning - and putting as much relevent material in your working memory is beneficial to seeing the bigger picture and quick informed decisions. A collection of one line facts (what you get when you look something up) does not make wisdom. Sure, most of us have extremely small working memories, but it does not negate the benefit for learnin…

This is a great point and can't be understated.

When you're in a meeting or conversing with someone who just knows things, the conversation moves so very much faster than if you have to guess or be vague due to a lack of knowledge.

I Google like crazy for answers about things, but I consider not knowing a failure on my part, and endeavor to learn the thing I had to google, so I don't have to "fail" again. I think everyone should think of this problem in a similar way, lest we fall into a habit of saying whatever we want and assuming we'll be corrected if we're wrong (or some other ill).

Re: I Google everything

#62

Post by DanBC » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:05 PM UTC

K2h wrote: post #55

I know taking issue with Einstien is not a good idea - but I'll do it anyway. Learning - and putting as much relevent material in your working memory is beneficial to seeing the bigger picture and quick informed decisions. A collection of one line facts (what you get when you look something up) does not make wisdom. Sure, most of us have extremely small working memories, but it does not negate the benefit for learnin…

Feynman makes a good point when he's describing why he isn't a genius.

Someone shows him a blueprint and he just happens to know X because (I can't remember, something he did last week) and that's such a little thing, but everyone is "wow!" and then someone else asks him a question and really, Y is the obvious answer because square root Z is (something something something) and everyone says "wow".

It ends up that Feynman worked on a lot of stuff, all the time, and remembered a lot of it.

I guess Feynman wouldn't have remembered his phone number unless it had some interesting characteristic.

Re: I Google everything

#63

Post by hadronzoo » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:07 PM UTC

“For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise.” —Plato, Phaedrus

Re: I Google everything

#64

Post by mirsadm » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:08 PM UTC

dagw wrote: post #33

edanm wrote: post #27

Great article. A side point, but one that is more interesting to me: in my social circle, I'm the only person who actually Googles everything. When I sit down to have a conversation with most people, and questions about facts come up, I instinctively start Googling. Almost no one else does this. People will prefer to spend an entire conversation trying to guess the population of e.g. Greece, rather than spend 5 secon…

And they don't seem much interested in the answer when I provide it, actually. I'm the sort of person who would happily spend an entire conversation trying to guess the population of Greece and frown upon anybody who tried to Google it. I like the fun, social 'game' of trying to work out random stuff from a few first principles . Having someone Google for it and tell me is like someone telling me the ending of a movi…

I can see your point but I noticed a problem with this (at least with my friends circle). The problem is that I find my friends (and girlfriend) will often come up with the wrong answer and use it as fact from that point on. Unless I make an effort to show them they are wrong it will become the truth and I will forever have to tell them they are wrong.

It is incredibly annoying when I hear them repeating the wrong information later on.

Re: I Google everything

#65

Post by freehunter » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:09 PM UTC

corin_ wrote: post #51

freehunter wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, talking shit means saying something negative about someone. John said I stole money from him? He's just talking shit. This could include truths; perhaps I did take his money, but there's more to the story than John mentioned. John paid me money for a service I performed but he thought it wasn't worth what he paid. John said I'm a cheat when I beat him in poker, but that was just the way the cards fell. He'…

Here you can "talk shit about " which has the meaning you use (e.g. "I was just talking shit about my colleagues"), whereas just "he's talking shit" is similar to bullshit, except maybe a little less angry and more dismissive.

Yes, that's the same thing I was referring to. Talking shit (with no modifier) is, in my experience, an uncommon phrase to use in a sentence; the only time I can recall hearing it is when person1 is telling person2 that person3 was talking shit about them. In that situation, the "about you" part is implied, and you can leave it off. "Don't worry about it man, he's just talking shit." That implies person1 is saying person3 said something negative about person2.

Now, what I would be doing in a bar is "shooting the shit". This means you're just telling bullshit stories (wild, made up, inaccurate, designed purely for entertainment). I caught a 30" bluegill is bullshit, and I would only say that when I'm in a bar shooting the shit.

Re: I Google everything

#66

Post by corin_ » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:11 PM UTC

freehunter wrote: post #65

corin_ wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here you can "talk shit about " which has the meaning you use (e.g. "I was just talking shit about my colleagues"), whereas just "he's talking shit" is similar to bullshit, except maybe a little less angry and more dismissive.

Yes, that's the same thing I was referring to. Talking shit (with no modifier) is, in my experience, an uncommon phrase to use in a sentence; the only time I can recall hearing it is when person1 is telling person2 that person3 was talking shit about them. In that situation, the "about you" part is implied, and you can leave it off. "Don't worry about it man, he's just talking shit." That implies person1 is saying pe…

> Yes, that's the same thing I was referring to. Talking shit (with no modifier) is, in my experience, an uncommon phrase to use in a sentence

No, no, no! In the UK it is not uncommon! People over here are talking shit all the time, often not about anyone.

Re: I Google everything

#67

Post by prophetjohn » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:15 PM UTC

As a side note, your blog looks very nice, but is unusable on a Nexus 7 in portrait mode.

Re: I Google everything

#68

Post by elorant » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:24 PM UTC

filetype:pdf has been my secret weapon. I use it like fifty times a week looking for white papers, case studies, etc for various subjects. The wealth of information hidden in these little gems is invaluable.

Re: I Google everything

#69

Post by Tycho » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:31 PM UTC

The only thing comparable to Google searching is Twitteer search. Case in point: this morning after reading the sad news of director Tony Scott's death, I inevitable felt morbidly curious about what the circumstances or motivations might have been. Plenty of other people will too, so eventually it will find it's way into the press, but only after days or maybe weeks. So, I opened Twitter on my iPad and searched for 'Tony Scott rumours' and there was the likely answer among the first few results. Of course it was only unconfirmed conjecture but enough to satisfy my curiosity so I wouldn't spend any more time thinking about the event.

Tweets are more instant and just more human IMO. It means you can better leverage your understanding of human behaviour when you try to search for things.

Re: I Google everything

#70

Post by blaabjerg » Mon, Aug 20, 2012, 4:35 PM UTC

minikites wrote: post #58

dagw wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And they don't seem much interested in the answer when I provide it, actually. I'm the sort of person who would happily spend an entire conversation trying to guess the population of Greece and frown upon anybody who tried to Google it. I like the fun, social 'game' of trying to work out random stuff from a few first principles . Having someone Google for it and tell me is like someone telling me the ending of a movi…

Watch out for the Anchoring Effect: http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/07/27/anchoring-effect/ Is the population of Venezuela greater or fewer than 65 million? Go ahead and guess. Ok, another question, how many people do you think live Venezuela?

That's interesting, thanks for the link. Apparently I'm not like most people, as I guessed 20 million. Maybe the fact that you made me aware of potential cognitive bias affected the outcome, I don't know.