Understanding our neighbors

E.O. Wilson, the eminent biologist has spent m0st of his life studying ant colonies. He concludes that while each ant appears to be little more than a vacant chemical program with legs, collectively they add up to a complex macro-organism, i.e.- the colony. The colony makes decisions, it migrates, it designs… This is the idea of Emergence; somewhere beyond the scope of any one individual there is a groupthink that bubbles to the top. With that said, I sincerely hope search suggestions in Google English aren’t really tapping into the heart of our mass id; if so we’re all screwed.

A few years back… August 4, 2006 to be exact, AOL.com “accidentally” released a compressed text file containing twenty million search keywords for over 650,000 users over a 3-month period. The blunder went unnoticed for 3 days by which time, whole websites had opened to mine and gawk at the nature of people’s search habits. While no names were released, some users (identified only by number) were identified based on their searches.

Highlights include User 927 (to date, the most bizarre search history in history seen here. just type in, I put on my robe and wizard hat)

User 98280, a household believed to be in the Houston TX area, looking for, among other things:

• fine black girls
• ovulation calculator
• first trimester of pregnancy
• symptoms of cocaine addiction
• is it a disorder to want to own violent dogs
• coping with abusive spouses
• karyme lozano pictures
• how do i get auditions for acting gigs
• spiritual beliefs on abortion
• bible scriptures for healing from mental disorders
• prayers to break curses
• form letter for a formal apology to co-worker
• dictionary definition for varmit
• beyonce pictures

and then there’s User 711391 who’s entries became the feature of a mini movie entitled “I love Alaska” which can be viewed in full here.