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In an article in yesterday’s NY Times, Alberto Manguel compares the Genesis story of Babel and the library at Alexandria with their alleged modern-day counterpart–Google’s commitment to digitize all human knowledge. Are we constructing a modern-day tower of Babel? A monument to the hubris of what might be possible if we could just get a little smarter. Will Google help us find answers to the big questions: where did we come from, and what’s the meaning of it all? I went online to find out. I Googled the question “What is the meaning of it all?” and got the following:

In an article in yesterday’s NY Times, Alberto Manguel compares the Genesis story of Babel and the ambitions of the library at Alexandria with their alleged modern-day counterpart–Google’s commitment to digitize all human knowledge. Are we constructing a modern-day tower of Babel–a monument to the hubris of what might be possible if we could just get a little smarter? Will Google help us find answers to perennial puzzlers like: where did we come from? Is anyone or anything in charge? And, what’s the meaning of it all? I went online to find out. I Googled the question “What is the meaning of it all?” and got the following:
The Meaning of Emmanuel
… “What is the meaning of it all?” “What is its purpose?” The human tendency always is to forget origins. And now that Christmas has grown to be such a …
The Kubrick Site: John Morgan on 2001 vs. 2010
… What is the meaning of it all? Is there a God? What is the purpose of Art? Is there a merging of Art and Science?’ Where Clarke in comparison only asks …
The meaning of life, the universe and everything
… What is the meaning of it all? ‘Antennae’ colliding galaxies. When we contemplatethe unimaginable vastness of the universe, the incredible diversity …
London theater musical on stage in London’s West End Shaftesbury …
… But what is the meaning of it all? Well, mainly that the dreamy idealist, Boney, had all he needed in Anastasia Barzee’s sweetly trilling Jo and never …
‘Rings’ actor: ‘It’ll be the biggest film of all time’
… What is the meaning of it all? In some ways, that sort of inquiry is completely unfashionable. “I often think one of the reasons people are dismissive …
Becoming a Wise Elder
… Questions such as “What is the meaning of it all?” and “Does my life make any kind of difference to anyone?” were very unlikely to arise. …
Psychology Today: Still news
… PT: What is the meaning of it all now? BB: There was a recklessness in Kennedy’s life that I didn’t see, a sexual recklessness I don’t understand. …
None of these offerings brought me closer to a substantive answer. Demoralized by the thought of having to go through the other 517 possibilities. I decided to respond to the suggestion at the top of my page:
Tip: Have a question? Ask the researchers at Google Answers.
I clicked “Google Answers” and entered my question: What is the meaning of it all?
Then I had to set a price for my question between $2 and $200. I clicked on “How do I price my question?” And found the following guidelines:
*The more you pay, the more time and effort a Researcher will likely spend on your answer. However, this depends somewhat on the nature of your question.
*Above all – try to pay what the information is worth to you, not what you think you can get it for – that is the best way to get a good answer – but only you can know the value of the information you seek.
Hmm, what is the information worth to me?
I took a look at Google’s examples to get an idea of where my question might fit on the pay scale. Fifty dollars is the “minimum price appropriate for complex, multi-part questions. Researchers will typically spend at least one hour on $50 questions and be very responsive to follow-up questions.” One hundred dollar questions merit two to four hours of “highly thorough research.” Examples of hundred dollar questions included “Parking in New York City, and How does infant-family bonding develop?” The two hundred dollar question required researchers to “spend extensive amounts of time (4 hours plus).” Examples of $200 questions included: Searching for Barrett’s Ginger Beer, Applications using databases, What is the impact of a baby with Down’s Syndrome on its family?
None of those examples seemed to be in the same league with “what’s the meaning of it all?” Can a Google researcher find the answer in 4 hours? probably not, although I do wonder what they would come up with. Anyway, the point of all this is that Google is set up to search out trivial, quotidian sorts of things and it will be interesting to see how/if they can make the transition from those who can tell you how to “search for Barrett’s Ginger Beer,” to gatekeepers of all human knowledge.