Truth: Less Helpful Than Fiction?

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.