3 ms·

http://www82.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=weight+of+an+indian+elephant http://www82.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=weight+of+an+indian+e... "weight of a" always seems

by GavinB 17y ago

http://www82.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=weight+of+an+indian+elephant http://www82.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=weight+of+an+indian+e... "weight of a" always seems to trigger the weight query. The problem is that it doesn't have general data for "elephant" and doesn't know to link it to "indian elephant." It would be a lot easier if you could just browse the data. They could really have just used a good online retailer "drill-down" style interface ala newegg to make this easier.

jimbokun 17y ago
Seems to indicate the need for a search interface, which was hinted at by the article. Maybe the tool selection could happen after the initial query? The results from the default tool guessed by WA, then choices of other possible matches. The key word "weight" could suggest the weight query, then key word match "elephant" to give choices like Indian elephant, African elephant, etc. and allow the user to click which one she had in mind. Maybe some keyword matches for elephant from other databases listed after that. The problem, though, is they don't have the amount of data Google can use to help predict what a user most likely wants from a given query.