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I encounter often the opposite problem where I'm regularly telling people who are flailing around on Google to deal with some unexpected problem, "I don't know,

I encounter often the opposite problem where I'm regularly telling people who are flailing around on Google to deal with some unexpected problem, "I don't know, but you know you will? An Oncologist/IP-attorney/electrician/etc. Instead of using Google to find a pile of amateurs' competing anecdotes, perhaps you can use it to find an actual expert who can help you?"

mikeyouse 5y ago
Very true. "Just google it" works for a very specific subset of problems. In most disciplines, especially "real world" ones outside of computing, there is no easily googleable answer to most problems. Lawyers get a hard time for answering every question with "it depends" but unfortunately, that's the domain a lot of people work within and it's the right answer most of the time.
NikolaNovak 5y ago
I see what you're saying, and I guess like most, I've experienced both: * A trivial technological problem that leaves my family helpless though it's literally the first hit on Google * A critical life-impacting issue, usually health but sometimes things like taxes or mortgage or household maintenance - things where trustworthy experts exist and are readily available here - and they go to random sketchy Facebook groups and get random advice from random people (frequently involving Crystals or essential oils but I digress into whole other rant :P )
- TheOtherHobbes 5y ago
  There seem to be two modes here. There's an objective fact-checking mode, and a personal network of trust mode. This becomes a problem when the personal network is made of people who rely on hearsay, and signals-of-belonging instead of evidence-based information. It's also a problem when "official" experts aren't truly expert, for various possible reasons - including corruption, incompetence, deliberate bad faith, and others. It's hard for people who think in one way to understand that others don't think in the same ways.
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mikeyouse 5y ago

Very true. "Just google it" works for a very specific subset of problems. In most disciplines, especially "real world" ones outside of computing, there is no easily googleable answer to most problems. Lawyers get a hard time for answering every question with "it depends" but unfortunately, that's the domain a lot of people work within and it's the right answer most of the time.

NikolaNovak 5y ago

I see what you're saying, and I guess like most, I've experienced both: * A trivial technological problem that leaves my family helpless though it's literally the first hit on Google * A critical life-impacting issue, usually health but sometimes things like taxes or mortgage or household maintenance - things where trustworthy experts exist and are readily available here - and they go to random sketchy Facebook groups and get random advice from random people (frequently involving Crystals or essential oils but I digress into whole other rant :P )

TheOtherHobbes 5y ago
There seem to be two modes here. There's an objective fact-checking mode, and a personal network of trust mode. This becomes a problem when the personal network is made of people who rely on hearsay, and signals-of-belonging instead of evidence-based information. It's also a problem when "official" experts aren't truly expert, for various possible reasons - including corruption, incompetence, deliberate bad faith, and others. It's hard for people who think in one way to understand that others don't think in the same ways.

deleted 5y ago

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