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Move over Pound, Eliot and Keats – Google's got serious verse

Simon Usborne
Monday 12 November 2012 21:30 GMT
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There should be no poetry in algorithms but a new blog reveals rhyme in the automatically generated. Google Poetics posts screen grabs that show the four search terms Google suggests according to what you have typed so far, based on the earlier queries of internet users everywhere. For example, start typing "What..." into the search window, and the first result Google offered yesterday was: "What is Twitter?" Together, these lines offer snapshots of what the world is thinking that are variously random, poignant, funny and – arguably – poetic.

Going further, Sampsa Nuotio and Raisa Omaheimo, two Finns who set up the site, which takes submissions from anyone, say they "reveal our inner workings, our fears and prejudices, secrets and shames, the hope and longing of a modern individual".

Could I achieve these lofty goals with just a few keystrokes and the collective wisdom of the web? Below are the suggested results of searches I started yesterday, but did not finish.

Why do...

Why do we yawn

Why do cats purr

Why do we dream

Why do dogs eat grass

Google is...

Google is your friend

Google is evil

Google is god

Google is not responding

What is...

What is the time

What is the minimum wage

What is the

What is the meaning of life

I want...

I want a baby

I want a boyfriend

I want a job

I want a fresh start

Do and see better via GooglePoetics.com

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