Comments on: Google isn’t making us dumb, but ‘smart’ is changing

By: TechieCrunch – Google myths that will amaze you

TechieCrunch – Google myths that will amaze you — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:41:22 +0000

[...] is the smart solution to a technologically “dumb” and outdated library system [source: Polaine]. With Google, we can gather up-to-the-minute information from myriad sources with blazing [...]

By: Rhetorical Question? « Wonderful Mistakes

Rhetorical Question? « Wonderful Mistakes — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:12:22 +0000

[...] is a lot of responses to this article because it got people to think for themselves which I love. Andy Polaine has a very different approach to this subject. He thinks the definition of smart is changing. Which [...]

By: Andy Polaine

Andy Polaine — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:33:09 +0000

Hils - if you don't see the problem, that's a problem. The point isn't that database programmers aren't people, but that they are a very small minority of people. I know it reads odd (see the above comments).

Most people don't think like database programmers – the underlying structure of databases is a mystery to most people and it's even a mystery to some programmers. People seeking information seek it in ways that make sense to their knowledge of the subject, not the way someone has decided to organise it.

Amusingly, your comment ended up spam trapped because you got the reCaptcha wrong, proving that you are, indeed, a robot! Ha!

By: Hils

Hils — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:18:29 +0000

Emm, they are forced to think like database programmers…. I don’t see the problem. After all programmers are people. Sorry but machines are not doing that themselves yet. Hopefully never will.

By: Andy Polaine

Andy Polaine — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:37:57 +0000

You mean they’re not robots? Seriously, though, that does read badly, I agree. It should really read “think like a database”, but that sounded weird.

By: tim

tim — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:46:24 +0000

am i dumber because of your post? surely not and thanks for encouraging me to delicious even more (even though i do go back from time to time when i try to refer to something i saw on the web ages ago). the only slightly drastic passage i found to be “force researchers to think like a database programmer, not like a person.” i am sure even they are people too.

By: Andy Polaine

Andy Polaine — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:46:33 +0000

Ha ha – I wondered if it might seem too long to stomach on the blogoweb or the old rss-o-feed. Interesting to see who bothers and who doesn’t. I also spent an inordinate amount of time trying to make the first two paragraphs enticing enough for you skimmers to read further. Every blog post faces a first-page-of-a-book test. I suspect mine mostly fail.

By: Matt D

Matt D — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:09:00 +0000

Ironically, I nearly skipped over this in my rss feeds because it seemed long and its late. Glad I didn’t, top read.

By: Asi

Asi — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:31:13 +0000

Top post my friend! absolutely fantastic. thanks for taking this further. it's a fascinating subject and my thoughts are too long and unstructured to properly comment now but will gather my thoughts and continue this joyful blogversation

best