[ExI] Creating contexts

[Bryan Bishop]

Because of my terrible backlog. From "How much does one search cost?"
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2007/10/how_much_does_o.php

Kevin Kelly wrote:
> I don't expect anyone to seriously believe these amateur calculations;
> they are only intended to provide some scale. The value of web search 
> is in the hundreds of billions. But what is most interesting to me, is 
> that this huge "industry," this huge appetite, has materialized out of 
> nowhere. If we ask 800 billion questions today and expect to get 
> instant answers, where were those 800 billion questions 20 years ago?     
(that's actually 800b/yr according to KK, so that last part is reworded)

On a larger timescale, the blip of WWW search engines like Backrub, 
Archie or Gopher looks like this spontaneous combustion, the catalysis 
of trillions of new thermodynamic structures, mostly ideas in brains 
but also social relationships around the world, new business 
opportunities and so much more. Is it all due to basic chemistry, that 
there was simply enough idle matter and energy around to allow for the 
creation of this huge appetite?

- Bryan
________________________________________
Bryan Bishop
http://heybryan.org/