An article in today's New York Times discusses how Google queries can anticipate the rise in reported flu outbreaks and beat the forecasts of the CDC, sometimes by weeks at a time.
A similar technique could be used to track intellectual activity through Google queries. A recent article in The Atlantic suggested that using Google is making us stupid, but didn’t suggest what to do about it or how we can all get on board. We have known since the early 1970s that there is a correlation between the rise of reported flu queries and intellectual activities. Sometimes, the rise in temperature, the muscle aches, and feelings of nausea due to the latter are attributed to the former.
Using the data gathered from Google searches, we can anticipate an increase in intellectual activity before it occurs and take steps to prevent it. While there is currently no preventive vaccine or cure available for intellectual activity, a few basic steps of mental hygiene can reduce the severity of the outbreak:
1. An outbreak of intellectual activity often is preceded by a discussion of the works of any of a number of scholars, including Marshall McLuhan, Harold Innis, Walter J. Ong, Neil Postman, Lewis Mumford, Alfred Korzybski or Suzanne Langer.
This may be followed by secondary discussion of Paul Levinson, Lance Strate, Robert Logan, Joshua Meyerowitz or James Carey. Should you encounter a group discussing any of these authors, immediately change the topic to sports, the weather, politics or religion. A good lead in is: "Yes, technology may have influenced the course of human evolution, but weren't weather patterns, available raw material resources and the ineluctable modalities of warfare more significant?"
2. While there is no evidence that intellectual activity can be picked up on toilet seats, it is advisable to always have a supply of alternative reading material available, including old issues of Consumer Reports, copies of Mad Libs or almost any graphic novel, except any by Douglas Rushkoff or Neil Gaiman.
Article comments
1 - Bunny
Are health officials going to show up at my door too? Google is starting to creep me out.
2 - Robert K. Blechman
When assailed with these types of concerns, the best course is to cease thinking about them entirely. Certainly you don't want to be caught using Google to answer any question, whether about the flu or any particular epistemological consideration. The best course to ensure your privacy is to repeat the mantra: "I don't think, so I don't think so."
3 - thinkbeat
Literacy is a conspiracy to undermine social order. Citizens are advised to remain indoors , watch lots of television and especially, avoid hard cover books like, well... the plague. Text messages are probably safe if they have been sanitized by removing all correctly spelled words. An alternative mantra is: "I think, therefore I think I am."
4 - Robert K Blechman
Of course you're not talking about literacy; you're talking about illiteracy which gives a bad name to an otherwise good condition.
To be unable to read is a desirable state, not an ill-ness. Let’s not say that someone who can’t read is illiterate, let’s say post-literate, which is a very healthy state.
5 - YellowSEO
And Google queries can also predict political races too, as we seen with the resent election of Barack Obama with the electoral votes being very similar to to search volume.
6 - Martin
Google is great, it's so "intelligent". Of course we all need to be selective, since not all the stuff on the web is trustworthy. My IT teacher always said that he wrote the most stupid article on Wikipedia, I'm not mentioning the title because it's really embarassing, but still, it was published and people will believe in it...
so well, let's not believe in everything we read... but this thing of the flu, that you can predict it, well I think it's great. Google is the answer, most of the times.
let's just keep safe... baby steps :)
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