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Google Can Predict the Flu
An anonymous reader mentions Google Flu Trends, a newly unveiled initiative of Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm. The claim is that this Web service, which aggregates search data to track outbreaks of influenza, can spot disease trends up to 2 weeks before Centers for Disease Control data can. The NYTimes writeup begins: "What if Google knew before anyone else that a fast-spreading flu outbreak was putting you at heightened risk of getting sick? And what if it could alert you, your doctor and your local public health officials before the muscle aches and chills kicked in? That, in essence, is the promise of Google Flu Trends, a new Web tool ... unveiled on Tuesday, right at the start of flu season in the US. Google Flu Trends is based on the simple idea that people who are feeling sick will tend to turn to the Web for information, typing things like 'flu symptoms; or 'muscle aches' into Google. The service tracks such queries and charts their ebb and flow, broken down by regions and states."
In the future, Google will be able to record your eating habits and predict when you are going to poop.
This, of course, won't work on female users since we all know that girls don't poop.
Oh give me a break! I mean, assume for argument's sake that this technique actually worked. If it actually did, then the recent spike in search terms such as "mysterious virus", "flesh reanimation technology", "revivified corpses: control techniques" and "shotguns" on Google would indicate we're facing a major outbreak of zombies. That's just nonsense.
I'd write more about why this idea won't work, but I'll have to do it tomorrow. Right now I've got a splitting headache, so I'm just going to put some neosporin on that bite I got from the weird guy on the subway train and then head to bed.
on antivirus software.
If Madagascar detects anyone googling "flu" they'll close their ports.
You have to break your query down by language and how old it is. See, looking for "massive zombie outbreak" won't get any results if, say, Russia gets overrun by the undead. I mean, what's Russian for "Oh sh*t we're all gonna die!" anyway? And given how often this happens, you really need to sort by date too. I mean, two weeks ago there was a major zombie outbreak. It happened all over the country, like some kind of national holiday. And then the next day everyone was all like "nuhhh--what happened? Where's the aspirin? BrrrrAAAAaaaaIIIiinNNNnnsss" Damn zombie boys... get your own damn brains. *sigh*
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Yeah, because the first thing I am gonna think while running from a horde of zombies is, "Damn, I should go write a Slashdot journal entry about this".
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
I fail to see the sarcasm in your comment.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
That's very good, son, but you missed the 'e' on the end. --Dan Quale
everyone knows it starts in arnette, tx.
http://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
"That, in essence, is the promise of Google Flu Trends, a new Web tool... unveiled on Tuesday, right at the start of flu season in the US. Google Flu Trends is based on the simple idea that people who are feeling sick will tend to turn to the Web for information, typing things like 'flu symptoms; or 'muscle aches' into Google. The service tracks such queries and charts their ebb and flow, broken down by regions and states.""
Hmmm. *types in Google "Dick falling off"*
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
The proof is not, nor has it ever been, in the pudding. However perhaps you meant to say the proof (i.e. test) of the pudding is in the eating.
Idiom police at your service. No, you needn't thank me ... just doing my job.
Yeah, because the first thing I am gonna think while running from a horde of zombies is, "Damn, I should go write a Slashdot journal entry about this".
Good point. But you can bet your ass that the twits on twitter will be tweeting...
"Zombies in the street. Gonna stay in tonight." ... ... ...
"Garbage stinks... better take it out."...
"it bit me. Hertz pretty bad."
"Man TV sucks on Monday night. Watching Simpons reruns."
"Seems cold in here. Crankin the heat."...
"I'm so hungry...lets see whats in the kitchen...!"
"Hand ii coodaafination fafading.. fafegae"...
"need bwrainsss brAaainzzs...."
"Hand ii coodaafination fafading.. fafegae"...
"need bwrainsss brAaainzzs...."
And these are different from normal twits (best ever name for twitter entries) how?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
That's great! Google strikes again... We can now "predict" a flu season when it is already happening. The timing of a flu season is more or less regular for a particular place (one of the mysteries of flu) and the big problem is not to predict when it will happen, but what will be the strain of choice for this year. This is the effort of CDC/WHO and it is a tricky problem because the flu virus mutates a lot (hence the need to be vaccinated every year). The mutation sometimes is such that an avian and a human virus combine to produce a new human virus. That's when bad things happen (predicted vaccines fail, 1918 pandemic, etc.). Google's idea is at best very interesting as a tool for monitoring the spread of flu amongst people with access to internet, but I fail to see its predictive power in general.