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Why do I need something other than Google to answer a question?
Jul
Curious Kids is a series for kids of all ages. If you have a question you would like answered by an expert, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.
Why do I need a scientist to answer my question when there is Google? – Harrison F., 13, Brookline, Massachusetts
Imagine you’re looking for something. Whether you’re a fourth-grader who needs to learn how volcanoes erupt or an adult looking for more information about a news article, you might want to do a quick search online. What could possibly go wrong?
Google may seem to have all the answers to your questions. But where does this information come from? Who chooses which websites show up when you type “volcanic eruption” into the search box? Who decides which item appears first and in what order the rest will appear?
I think about these questions often because of what I do for a living: helping scientists at the University of Memphis communicate about your work with colleagues from the academic world and the general public.
These scholars are experts who have worked and studied for a long time to learn everything they can about a given topic. They answer questions by combining their knowledge with scientific method discover up-to-date things.
Page, Brin and PageRank
When Larry Page and Sergei Brin created the Google search engine in 1996 when computer science students at Stanford University tried to create a quick way to easily find things on the internet. At that time searching the web was slow and difficultmaking it complex to find the best information.
They invented an algorithm, a detailed set of step-by-step instructions or pattern, called PageRank indicator. It works by estimating the quality of a website by measuring the number and quality of other sites that link to it. When you search on Google, its search engine returns the highest-rated sites related to what you are looking for.
Some disadvantages
Google searches have become so rapid that it can feel like they happen instantly.
However, Google search results can be influenced by other factors besides PageRank, such as: advertisers pay google to make their websites rank higher than they otherwise might. Google’s algorithms take into account hundreds of other variables, including what sites you’ve clicked on in the past and how recently a page was updated.
Unlike scientists, Google search cannot automatically decide which sources are most critical, most precise, or most significant. This means that Google searches do not necessarily identify objective and reliable information.
You may want to consider switching to another search engine, such as Microsoft’s Bing or one that specifically promotes the privacy of your information, such as DuckDuckGo. However, many of these alternatives share the same flaws.
How scientists communicate
Scientists often communicate by publishing research papers. Each paper highlights a single idea that adds to the discussion. This may be a up-to-date experimental result or a up-to-date observation. Other scientists then read the paper and discuss it.
Well-read people can evaluate the same set of facts and still have different perspectives, meaning that there is not necessarily one right answer to a question. Over time, these variations lead to some commonly accepted principles and concepts.
This series of studies, reviews and discussions has been around from the first scientific journals were published in 1665As up-to-date discoveries are made, ideas may change.
One way that researchers show what other ideas they’re considering in their work is through scholarly citations. You’ve probably seen them before—the references section at the back of nonfiction books or at the bottom of Wikipedia articles. Each citation points to a different work.
These quotes tell you what other books and sources the author of what you are reading considered – and how they came to formulate those ideas. If many scholars use the same ideas as building blocks for their own concepts, and then their ideas serve as building blocks for other ideas, leading to a continuous cycle of innovation.
The discovery process is not dependent on advertisers – even though it may depend in part on whether scientists receive funding to conduct certain types of research.
Many of the ideas you find on the internet come from academic studies, but they are susceptible to bias and advertising pressures in a way that most academics are not. We need academics because they provide the full picture, the most up-to-date information, informed by their wisdom and deeply considered perspective.
The Internet makes it easier to locate information than ever before in human history. But as Albert Einstein said, “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”
Hey, curious kids! Have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Include your name, age, and city of residence.
And since curiosity knows no age limits – adults, let us know what you’re wondering. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we’ll do our best.
