On Mar 31, 2008, at 1:13 PM, Jonathan Rochkind wrote:
> ...I was thinking along those lines when I said that there should
> maybe be
> some automatic query expansion, but with a clear message to the
> user and
> way to eliminate it when desired....
So, if some word tools were available, then some of us would use them
to do query expansion, but can we think of other possible uses? For
example, how about an Instant Pathfinder? Enter a word for phrase and
get back an outline of facts/knowledge:
You searched for "blues". Assuming you meant music, then:
* Definitions of blues include... [use dictionary]
* Ideas similar to blues are... [use thesauri]
* Here is a short [encyclopedia] article on blues...
* Here is a list of books, articles, and music samples... [use
catalogs and indexes]
* Here are local people who are experts in blues... [use directory]
* The librarian to chat with for more information is... [use
directory]
Same or similar things could be done for just about any subject.
--
Eric Lease Morgan
Received on Mon Mar 31 2008 - 12:33:03 EDT