Schroedinger's Google

TorgoX on 2005-04-14T06:25:01

Dear Log,

The Weak Schroedinger's Google hypothesis:

If you don't look for a tool/utility in Google, it is there. (But if you do look, it may or may not be there.)

The Strong Schroedinger's Google hypothesis:

IFF you don't look for a tool/utility in Google, it is there. (And if you do look, it's not there.)

The Dammit Schroedinger's Google hypothesis:

If you look for it in Google, it is there, but mysteriously you won't find it until you later have to go create the tool for yourself -- at which point you can immediately google for it again and then actually the stuff that would have saved you all that time if you'd found it the first time.

---

The Coraline Corollary

rjbs on 2005-04-14T11:36:03

...but if you ask Richard to Google for it, he will find it.

Re:The Coraline Corollary

TorgoX on 2005-04-14T13:33:24

This is true. He's amazing!

Clinton's Rationale....

clintp on 2005-04-14T13:21:50

Clinton's Rationale for the The Dammit Schroedinger's Google Hypothesis:

By the time you've learned enough about a topic to begin programming, you now have the correct keywords you need to search on Google for the ready-made solution.

Corollary:
This moment is also the time that you determine that the ready-made solutions weren't adaquate anyway.

Corollary 2:
The amount of work done after the discovery in Corollary 1, but before you realize that you shouldn't have re-invented this wheel will always be just enough investment that you'll keep working on it anyway.

And don't forget Finagle's Law[*]

Fletch on 2005-04-14T15:52:23

If you search and don't find it, asking in public (IRC, Perlmonks, et al) will almost certainly guarantee it being the first hit when you add one more blindingly obvious search term that everyone will sugguest.

[*] Finagle's Law: The perversity of the universe tends toward a maximum.