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SearchReSearch

A blog about search, search skills, teaching search, learning how to search, learning how to use Google effectively, learning how to do research. It also covers a good deal of sensemaking and information foraging.

Republished with permission from SearchReSearch
SearchResearch Challenge (9/20/23): What IS dietary fiber?
September 20, 2023
SearchResearch Challenge (9/20/23): What IS dietary fiber?
 I realized I don't know what "fiber" really is!  I was at a farmer's market buying a few veggies for the week ahead, and while standing in line I was browsing my news feed, and came across an article about the amount of dietary fiber in...
Answer: A mysterious octopus? And the woman who understood.
September 15, 2023
Answer: A mysterious octopus? And the woman who understood.
  An octopus has eight arms... Gloomy octopus. P/C John Turnbull.... and, even though it's a mollusk, it doesn't have a shell.  They do have a hard beak, but there's no shell in the ordinary sense of a mollusk.  &nbsp...
SearchResearch Challenge (9/6/23): A mysterious octopus? And the woman who understood.
September 6, 2023
SearchResearch Challenge (9/6/23): A mysterious octopus? And the woman who understood.
 I thought I knew what an octopus was... Gloomy octopus. P/C John Turnbull.... they're the ultimate shape-shifter with an amazing ability to solve puzzles, slip through tiny holes, and possessed of a fascinating kind of intelligence.  I'...
Answer: What’s that in the belly of the Redondasaurus?
August 30, 2023
Answer: What’s that in the belly of the Redondasaurus?
 It's not everyday you see a phytosaur... ... yet, there it was in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Big, with an impressive set of teeth, and looking for all the world like a massive crocodile. This is Redondasaurus bermani.&...
SearchResearch Challenge (8/23/23): What’s that in the belly of the Redondasaurus?
August 23, 2023
SearchResearch Challenge (8/23/23): What’s that in the belly of the Redondasaurus?
 I looked at the Phytosaur in real shock... Because there, in the dinosaur hall of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in central Pittsburgh, was what looked to be a massive crocodile.  This is Redondasaurus bermani. It was huge ...
Answer: Animal? Plant? How do you know?
August 18, 2023
Answer: Animal? Plant? How do you know?
Mixotrophs for the win...  Elysia chlorotica, a sea slug that incorporates chloroplasts into its body.P/C Patrick J. Krug, Creative Commons CC BY-NC 3.0 license, via Wikimedia CommonsRemember the Elysia cholorotica (the big green sl...
SearchResearch Challenge (8/9/23): Animal? Plant? How do you know?
August 9, 2023
SearchResearch Challenge (8/9/23): Animal? Plant? How do you know?
 I love learning something that radically changes my understanding of the world... Elysia chlorotica, a sea slug that incorporates chloroplasts into its body. P/C Patrick J. Krug, Creative Commons CC BY-NC 3.0 license, via Wikimedia CommonsIf...
Answer: How do you know what to still believe?
August 3, 2023
Answer: How do you know what to still believe?
What we believe to be true...   Dall-E. [ digital art young man looking at a skull on the desktop ]... changes over time. That's good because it generally means that we, as a culture, are figuring things out.  It's easy to come up w...
SearchResearch Challenge (7/26/23): How do you know what to still believe?
July 26, 2023
SearchResearch Challenge (7/26/23): How do you know what to still believe?
Our beliefs change over time.  Dall-E. [ digital art young man looking at a skull on the desktop ]Good thing too. It was once widely believed that California was an island, that "bad air" caused disease, and that there was an Open Polar ...
Answer: How can we use LLMs to search better?
July 19, 2023
Answer: How can we use LLMs to search better?
Magic is, by definition... Precision targeting for SearchResearch. P/C by Mikhail Nilov (Pexels link)... something that you don't understand.  That's why magicians wow us in their presentations. I love magic, but I really don't want magi...
Comment: How can we use LLMs to search even better?
July 14, 2023
Comment: How can we use LLMs to search even better?
An interesting question we should always ask ourselves... Precision targeting for SearchResearch. P/C by Mikhail Nilov (Pexels link)If you've got a new tool (LLMs, for example), as a skilled researcher, you want to find new ways to use that tool.&...
SearchResearch Challenge (7/12/21): How can we use LLMs to search even better?
July 12, 2023
SearchResearch Challenge (7/12/21): How can we use LLMs to search even better?
I've been skeptical... Precision targeting for SearchResearch. P/C by Mikhail Nilov (Pexels link)... about the search capability of LLMs. But I realize they're here to stay--no amount of witchcraft will make them go away and we can only wait for t...
Answer: How can you find a free audio book?
July 5, 2023
Answer: How can you find a free audio book?
 Listening to a book on the road... P/C Tomas Anunziata on Pexels.com ... is a very different experience than reading the text as printed on paper, and different yet again than reading it on a screen. I recently listened t...
SearchResearch Challenge (6/28/23): How can you find a free audio book?
June 28, 2023
SearchResearch Challenge (6/28/23): How can you find a free audio book?
Audible books are life-changing. P/C Tomas Anunziata on Pexels.com When I go on long road trips, listening to audible books (previously known as "books on tape") are an essential item. They keep me awake and listening, especially when I'...
Answer: How to find the best AI-powered search engine of the moment?
June 21, 2023
Answer: How to find the best AI-powered search engine of the moment?
How can you find the best tool... P/C Dall-E. Prompt "clash of the titans - three giant science fiction robots all fighting together with thunder lightning dramatic skies ... to do that search thing we all know and love?  Is there a kind...
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About the Author

Dan RussellDan Russell

I study the way people search and research. I guess that makes me an anthropologist of search. I am FIA's Future-ist in Residence. More »

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    The Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive StorytellingJune 6, 2017

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