The most accurate answer may not be the most helpful. Suppose we are on the tenth floor of a building and you ask, "what's the quickest way to get back down to the street?" I could give you the correct answer: "the quickest way would be to throw a chair through that window over there and then jump through it." Or I could give you an answer that is technically incorrect, but much more useful: "go down to the end of the hallway, take a right, and take the elevator."
Computers can be maddening because they tend to give you the literally true answer that is useless, instead of the "wrong" answer that is useful.
3 comments:
Whatever issues you were having--you have my sympathy.
Michelle
Actually, computers do seem to be getting better at being "helpful." For example, if I Google for "Jennifer Lepoz" it will say "Did you mean: Jennifer Lopez." That is pretty cool.
Right, I wouldn't. It was a hypothetical example.
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