[saagarjha]

> Also is search considered a solved problem?

I certain wouldn't, since I still encounter things that I know are on the internet but Google can't find. It's possible that the next advance won't be actually indexing the web but rather figuring out what the user wants rather than what they requested.

[busyant]

> what the user wants rather than what they requested.

Amusing anecdote regarding this issue.

  - I teach an introductory online chemistry class. 
  - If the students are determined enough, they can/do cheat on their quizzes.
  - In one of my quizzes, I give the students a formula for a pretend material and ask them to compute its molar mass.
  - If you perform the calculation, the molar mass works out to something like 108 grams / mole.
  - If you try to Google the answer, Google is smart enough to know that my compound is unstable. 
  - Instead, Google provides the molar mass for a _related_ material (86 grams / mole)
  - Each semester, I find a handful of students who dutifully tell me the answer is 86 g / mole.

[DenisM]

Magnificent.

Reminds me of my metal work craft classes in school. We were making our own wrenches from scratch, and that requires a bit of geometry and drafting to make the blueprint (and the template). A couple of guys decided to cheat by pressing an existing wrench against the paper and using a pencil to copy the shape. Sounds like fine idea in theory, but the result is obviously fake, and also distorted enough to be unusable (pencil-surface angle will and pencil thickness will not let you have exact measurements, and inability to maintain the stable angle distorts the shape). Didn’t end well for them, got nearly kicked out.

[osrec]

Google does this to some extent. Recently I've found that Google uses my past queries to make cogent suggestions for my next search (essentially to predict what I want next based on prior info). Eg, if I've just searched for "sully", then a short time after type "t" into Google, the first suggestion is Tom Hanks. I've only noticed this in the last few months.

[leggomylibro]

My favorite example of this is the Bullet physics library.

Google eventually learned to give me documentation in response to stuff like 'bullet collision', but for awhile it was big on youtube links and gun ranges.

[Swizec]

I’ve experienced this when learning new programming languages and other domains. When you start, Google results are mostly garbage with a few useful bits. A few months later, it feels like the web is awash in materials to answer your every question and you can always find an answer for your problem in the first 5 results.

Part of it is learning which phrases to use when searching, but I’m sure a big part of it is also Google figuring out what you want.

[ianai]

Googles monetization strategy blinds the results. My guess would be either a way to search beyond google or force it to give results that aren’t manipulated somehow.