Vol 5 . . . No 2 . . . October, 1995
Word searches permit a kind of "net casting" which is powerful and even magical. The WWW search programs seem to gather up all kinds of vaguely associated articles and files. This is no carefully pointed search process. Serendipity is in full control. The technology leader who learns to pose strange and magical search combinations reaches for "wizard " status.
This is more fanciful and intuitive than more formal Boolean searches because the search engines are more sloppy and forgiving. They collect too much and give you a list of vaguely associated items. This is both a hindrance and a blessing. Free association spawns creation but can rapidly drown the thinker in irrelevance.
For more on this topic . . . Culling the Net The main point is to be "on the lookout" for new ideas, new possibilities, new avenues and new inventions. Go to InfoSeel or WebCrawler and type in the word "new." See what pops up!
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