Monday, January 12, 2009

A fine kettle of fish


Who cares if Google knows more about your habits than your mother--now we have a real controversy!

Two search requests on the internet website Google produce "as much carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle", according to a Harvard University academic.


Google, of course, immediately disagreed, saying that two search requests produce far less, "only as much carbon dioxide as leaping to conclusions," unless, of course, the search is on whether Tom Brady really proposed this time.

Dr. Wissner-Gross, the Harvard academic, accused Google of manipulating the data by watching the kettle they tried to boil.

It's disheartening to see "scientific" numbers tossed around (7g vs. 0.2g of carbon dioxide released per search) when there's no standard volume for a kettle.

(My blog's gone to pot....)



The kettle pic is from Fante's Kitchen Ware Shop.






6 comments:

Barry Bachenheimer said...

You and I must be on the same wavelength; we blogged similarly. http://plethoratech.blogspot.com/2009/01/1000-google-searches-could-drive-your.html

doyle said...

Sumgum you posted this hours ahead of me!

(I'll take this one down if you'd like--I didn't see yours before I posted this.)

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

@Barry& @ Doyle:
Serendipity... or hyperconnectedness?
I have an idea to answer here.

Doyle, you are on a roll as of late. I like the "walking atop a barbed-wire fence" -type feel of your latest posts.

You seem predictably energized by your recent tech input... though still with a healthy grounded-to-the-earth base.

I am enjoying the view from here as I watch a fellow electronic pal navigate these shifting waters.

Cheers!

Sean

Anonymous said...

Is your blog going to pot or are you just calling the kettle black?

What to do? Everything we do takes energy. Maybe we should attach pedal powering bicycle generators to all appliances. Or turn off a light.

Official blizzard warning for the Chicago area; we don't get those too often. I think I'll go make some tea. My daughters are hoping for a snow day. Unofficially and, so as not to jinx it, hypothetically so is their mother.

Unknown said...

I've always wondered about the carbon footprint of searching online. I'll keep searching Google and say no to pot.

doyle said...

@Sean,
I'm AM a bit energized--a great conference, increasing sunlight, and a receding virus will do that! Now if I can just clear the pile of work I built up during the past few weeks....

@Kate,'Hope you stay safe through the blizzard. As to what we do, I think maybe awareness and the best we can is a good place to start (and I know you're already there, I read your words). As for me, I keep reminding myself that a pencil still works as well as it did a few decades ago, and there's plenty of light outside when I'm not too busy inside chasing my own tail.

@John,
I was going to add something to that, but I think I'll leave it alone.

And get cracking on that book of yours!

Cheers....