Boolean and the Future of Search
December 19, 2010
Six years teaching library instruction sessions to college students taught me that Boolean searching is misunderstood by a majority of individuals. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised to read Glen Cathey’s Sourcecon blog post, “Boolean Search Does Not = Internet Search”, detailing how many in the human resources industry think Boolean and Internet searching are one in the same.
In the article, Cathey provides a brief history of Boolean’s creation in the 1800s, then states, “Practically any information system from which you need to search and retrieve information from ‘speaks’ Boolean to some extent, whether you realize it or not.” He goes on to highlight the varying degrees in which Boolean can be used in several databases and search engines—concluding that “Internet search = limited and conditional Boolean search.”
An interesting perspective, but given that Boolean searching is limited in some of the most popular search engines and databases, I don’t believe that a clear understanding will be coming any time soon. And Boolean? Is there an app for that UX (user experience)?
Christina Sheley, December 19, 2010
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