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300 Years to Index the World's Information
Kasracer writes "At the Association of National Advertisers annual conference, Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt suggested that it would take 300 years for them to index all of the world's information. From the article: 'We did a math exercise and the answer was 300 years,' Schmidt said in response to an audience question asking for a projection of how long the company's mission will take. 'The answer is it's going to be a very long time.'"
Did they take into account the information that is being created as they are indexing? Do they plan on live indexing everything that's being made. Information doesn't stop getting created just because they've stored everything that's already been done.
"Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
I'd like to see their definition of information. Certainly, a lot of things that are already of common interest are on the net. Occasionally, I find things that aren't available online but the greatest majority of the time google is able to find what I want.
To further the example: at work we have several filing cabinets that haven't been opened in years. There are lots of papers and stuff in there, I can vouch for that. Some might consider it "information." But in reality all that stuff could be burned and I doubt it would make the slightest difference in the way the future rolls out. None of it is stuff that would ever be needed by an IRS audit or anything like that either. Does google consider this kind of stuff as part of their efforts? Because I think they can safely ignore it.
We did a math exercise? What exercise?
To estimate the time involved, you surely need to know the size of the information involved (don't quote me that bunkum about 170 terabytes in TFA - yes I did read it), and to know the size you need to know what all the information is, which you can't (and surely new information is created all the time?).
This translates as "I pulled my finger out my ass, waved it in the air and came up with 300 years."
"We did a math exercise and the answer was 300 years," Schmidt said in response to an audience question asking for a projection of how long the company's mission will take. "The answer is it's going to be a very long time."
Since this was in response to an audience member's question, does anyone else think he was joking? Because it is such an outlandish question from an information theory and modeling point of view, perhaps he was mocking it? "Ah yes, we just came up with an equation and it should take 294.59 years." I think this also makes sense in light of his next comment, which was made on a more serious note. I interpret it, "We really didn't use an equation, it will obviously take a long time though." This is how I understod his comments, and I may be wrong, but it wouldn't surprise me if some reporter picked up on this "joke" and put it up as "news".
Nationalize Google? Are you joking me or just insane? You want to take one of the most innovative and successful companies that the US has right now a nationalize it!?
I have a better idea, how about you just send out a government hit squad to kill to put a bullet between the eyes of single entrepreneur in the US. It will accomplish the same sort of freeze in the growth of innovative small businesses but look far less insane.
Like Anne Frank's?
Fact is, it's incredibly hard to determine today what will have value tomorrow. Most of those thirteen year old girls (or 20-something geek guys) blogs will have no historical value. But some of those people will grow up to have a profound impact on the world (or they may not grow up, but still have a profound impact, as was the case with Anne Frank). It may be ten years from now. Or 50.
Who knows what the writing they do now might tell us about what brought them wherever they end up? When people write diaries on paper chances are reasonable they'll survive and show up in an attic somewhere. But as more and more content get online, we also risk facing the loss of entire generations worth of many types of information to bit rot and simple lack of foresight.