Re: [ba-ohs-talk] Organic Growth of Knowledge
I know its a bad example. It's the best example I could
come up with on the spur of the moment, and it is far
from perfect. (01)
However, it was intended to be representative of several
queries I've made recently where the terms popular
usages, and there was no way to constrain the search
further. (02)
Admittedly, in the example I have, it is possible to do further
the constrain the search, if you have enough knowledge at
the outset -- such as the type of machine, or the simple
fact that a "printing press" is a different kind of beast than a
"printer". (03)
(Actually, that makes a *second* way that an ontology would
be valuable -- in a query-clarification that alerted the user to
the *existence* of potentially constraining terms like "printing
press".) (04)
At the time I was engaged in these searches, it had not occurred
to me that there was an serious question as to the value of
ontological markup. The next time I happen across a motivating
example, I'll be sure to document it. (05)
Chris Dent wrote: (06)
> Just to be argumentative: your example is an example of a bad
> query, not of a bad google. Where are the nouns in your query?
> You've got to have nouns.
>
> Say your press is (I'm making this up) a Linotype X15-24P.
>
> Stick that in your query. It will help.
>
> On Thu, 15 Aug 2002, Eric Armstrong wrote:
>
> > Google is "almost" the best thing since sliced bread, in that
> > a) It *is* the best thing since sliced bread if you the query you
> > are asking reflects the moat popularly-asked question.
> > (The odds are good, because it is in the nature of a popular
> > question that many people ask it.)
> >
> > b) If the question you are asking is *different* from the popular
> > one, Google isn't much help at all.
> >
> > Let's see if I can construct a concrete example. (I've encountered quite
> > a few, but haven't recorded them.)
> >
> > Let's consider a search on something like "stopping a printing process".
> > Since most Google users are computer geeks, if you want to know
> > how to cancel a print job, you'll come up with lots of great hits right
> > away.
> >
> > But if you're trying to shut down the newspaper's printing press, you're
> > going to have a huge collection of false positives to get through before
> > you find something relevant.
>
> --
> Chris Dent <cdent@burningchrome.com> http://www.burningchrome.com/~cdent/
> "If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, that there are
> opportunities to change things, that hope is possible, then hope may be
> justified, and a better world may be built. That's your choice.'' N.Chomsky (07)