[PaulDavisThe1st]

> I know it's crazy to think that a human being can compete with an algorithm.

Yes, it is crazy, in part because "the algorithm" (how i hate this term) really derives most of its power because it represents huge numbers of human beings making choices. The store clerk may have been an excellent recommendation engine for you, or they may not have been, but they almost certainly were not equally good (or bad) for most people.

[rchaud]

An algorithm in a Tower Records store in '99 would tell everyone to buy Britney Spears and Limp Bizkit records. It would not suggest say Spacemen 3 or The Magnetic Fields because they don't carry them in their inventory. It will however suggest a poor alternative that meets some 'nearest-neighbours' cluster threshold in a statistical model.

Independent video stores are not so tightly tied to one distributor, so yes, a clerk that takes a few moments to hear what movies you like could point you in the right direction....even if that direction is to go a different store entirely.