Blaming Google

In an article that tries to blame Google for the decline of literacy in society, Edward Tenner writes:

Many students seem to lack the skills to structure their searches so they can find useful information quickly. In 2002, graduate students at Tel Aviv University were asked to find on the Web, with no time limit, a picture of the Mona Lisa; the complete text of either "Robinson Crusoe" or "David Copperfield"; and a recipe for apple pie accompanied by a photograph. Only 15 percent succeeded at all three assignments.

Today, Google may have expedited such tasks, but the malaise remains.

Actually, Google makes it easy.

The Mona Lisa.
Robinson Crusoe and David Copperfield.
Apple Pie.

More owners of free high-quality content should learn the tradecraft of tweaking their sites to improve search engine rankings.

Spoken like somebody who knows nothing about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), or how hard it can be to "rank" for a commercially competitive keyword.