Google is your Imaginary Friend

If I've learned anything, it's that it doesn't really matter how much I know, but more importantly, what matters is how good I am at finding information.

Obviously there's value in knowing things - nobody's arguing that. Having a lively debate about global warming would be difficult if everyone had to look things up to form a position.

But I would say that the world is evolving in such a way that the amount of information being thrown at us is already vastly more than we can catalogue in our minds, and furthermore, that trend is only going to increase exponentially.

We shouldn't be teaching our kids how to memorize information and cram as much as possible into their brains. Instead, we need to be showing them how to be resourceful and find the answers they need amidst the increasing information & knowledge clutter in this world. Call it a "Googling" class (and I'm sure Google would jump at the chance to sponsor it). But you'll notice that many of my musings center around ways to efficiently gather, analyze, and disseminate data, and that's what I do best. I can get a working knowledge of just about any subject in 1 hour's time simply by looking it up on the Internet. That's why I say that Google is my imaginary friend. Just imagine having a resource next to you that had the answers to just about anything known to the human race. Well you do, and it's as close as the nearest computer. So the next time you don't know how to do something, or you're not sure where to begin, remember that most likely, not only has someone already been in your situation, but they've probably written a web page about the situation and what they did to resolve it.

What I mean in a very pragmatic, practical sense is, don't let ignorance or the fear of not knowing the answer to something keep you from acting on it (see my related posts on fear and triggers). Instead, take action! Look it up on Google. If you think the problem is to complex for a Google search, look pieces of the problem up to help you get an idea of the whole. Whenever someone asks me something, I usually want to ask them if they've checked Google first (and I usually refrain from seeming rude, but the thought crosses my mind!). Google is your friend. Learn it. Use it. Love it. You are superman, with a world's resources at your fingertips, so go take advantage of it.