--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The blessing of Google is its uncanny…" description: "\"“The blessing of Google is its uncanny skill in finding what you're looking for; the curse is that it so rarely finds any of those lovely odd things yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0f/alan-jacobs-22461_books_the-blessing-of-google-is-its-uncanny-sk_1313935.jpg" --- # The blessing of Google is its uncanny skill in finding… ![“The blessing of Google is its uncanny skill in finding what you're looking for; the curse is that it so rarely finds any of those lovely odd things you're -not- looking for. For that pleasure, it seems, we need -books.- (Bran Flakes and Harmless Drudges)” quote by Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0f/alan-jacobs-22461_books_the-blessing-of-google-is-its-uncanny-sk_1313935.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0f/alan-jacobs-22461_books_the-blessing-of-google-is-its-uncanny-sk_1313935.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0f/alan-jacobs-22461_books_the-blessing-of-google-is-its-uncanny-sk_1313935.jpg) > ““The blessing of Google is its uncanny skill in finding what you're looking for; the curse is that it so rarely finds any of those lovely odd things you're -not- looking for. For that pleasure, it seems, we need -books.- (Bran Flakes and Harmless Drudges)”” [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Google excels at delivering expected results but often misses unexpected, delightful discoveries that enrich curiosity. **In simple terms:** Google finds what you ask, not what you need. Key Takeaway Seek diverse sources beyond search engines. Themes technology information curiosity serendipity Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - research - creative writing - learning - exploration Key Concepts algorithmic bias search engine limitations knowledge diversity Questions to Reflect On - How can we intentionally discover the unknown? - What habits foster serendipitous learning? A Different Perspective Overreliance on search can narrow perspective and reduce chance encounters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blessing Google](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing-google-4356071/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Bran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-bran-4356073/) [Curse Rarely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse-rarely-4356072/) [Finding Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-looking-595095/) [Google](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/google/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Serendipity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serendipity/) ## Related quotes > [Serendipity is when you find things you weren't looking for because finding what you are looking for is so damned difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-mckean/serendipity-is-when-you-find-things-you-weren-t-looking-for-because/) [Erin McKean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-mckean/) > [“We usually end up finding what we are looking for, but we only look for what we already know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-junger/we-usually-end-up-finding-what-we-are-looking-for-but-we-only-look/) [Alejandro Junger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-junger/) > [“Why is it that the look of another person looking at you is different from everything else in the Cosmos? That is to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/why-is-it-that-the-look-of-another-person-looking-at-you-is-different/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [Finding out something about someone, and never looking at them the same way again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/finding-out-something-about-someone-and-never-looking-at-them-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only way we can ever get through to the truth is by finding out what we are not. We do that by looking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-long/the-only-way-we-can-ever-get-through-to-the-truth-is-by-finding-out/) [Barry Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-long/) > [Beware of finding what you're looking for. A favorite aphorism he often used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hamming/beware-of-finding-what-you-re-looking-for-a-favorite-aphorism-he/) [Richard Hamming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hamming/) > [In all my life I'd never been approached this way, the car pulling up, the Where you going? It was something I wish had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/in-all-my-life-i-d-never-been-approached-this-way-the-car-pulling-up/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [I've never looked through a keyhole without finding someone was looking back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-garland/i-ve-never-looked-through-a-keyhole-without-finding-someone-was/) [Judy Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-garland/) > [When I write about "realizations," I am describing a state in which a practitioner has wisdom of who she or he is, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-targ/when-i-write-about-realizations-i-am-describing-a-state-in-which-a/) [Russell Targ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-targ/) > [Many of the things that have happened in the laboratory have happened in ways it would have been impossible to foresee, but not impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-langmuir/many-of-the-things-that-have-happened-in-the-laboratory-have-happened/) [Irving Langmuir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-langmuir/) > [“ Serendipity awakens the dutiful wife to personal growth when a transformational opportunity comes her way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-harlan/serendipity-awakens-the-dutiful-wife-to-personal-growth-when-a/) [Jean Harlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-harlan/) > [If you use it intelligently, Twitter can be a form of engineered serendipity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/if-you-use-it-intelligently-twitter-can-be-a-form-of-engineered/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [Each painting is fresh and new, a surprise even to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-jackson/each-painting-is-fresh-and-new-a-surprise-even-to-myself/) [Anne Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-jackson/) > [I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-am-a-firm-believer-in-serendipity-all-the-random-pieces-coming/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“They happen only when you are distant,aloof. They happen, they cannot be brought. They happen you cannot force them to happen. They are spontaneous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/they-happen-only-when-you-are-distant-aloof-they-happen-they-cannot/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) ## More by Alan Jacobs > [“Objections to Christianity... are phrased in words, but that does not mean that they are really a matter of language and analysis and argument.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/objections-to-christianity-are-phrased-in-words-but-that-does-not/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“I would not be practicing love toward God OR my neighbour if I were to smile benignly on an unjust social order. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/i-would-not-be-practicing-love-toward-god-or-my-neighbour-if-i-were/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“So let me conclude this chapter with a celebration of splitting--of the disciplined, principled preference for rejecting categories whenever we discern them at work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/so-let-me-conclude-this-chapter-with-a-celebration-of-splitting-of/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“…the blogosphere is the friend of information but the enemy of thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/the-blogosphere-is-the-friend-of-information-but-the-enemy-of-thought/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“a first encounter with a worthwhile book is never a complete encounter, and we are usually in error to make it a final one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/a-first-encounter-with-a-worthwhile-book-is-never-a-complete/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“So the books are waiting. Of this you may be confident: they'll be ready when the whim strikes you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/so-the-books-are-waiting-of-this-you-may-be-confident-they-ll-be/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“And yet rereading a book can often be a more significant, dramatic, and, yes, new experience than encountering an unfamiliar work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/and-yet-rereading-a-book-can-often-be-a-more-significant-dramatic-and/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“The Virtue and unpretentiousness of the wise man, which I am talking about, goes unnoticed because of its transparent ordinariness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/the-virtue-and-unpretentiousness-of-the-wise-man-which-i-am-talking/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Great books are great in part because of what they ask of their readers: they are not readily encountered, easily assessed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/great-books-are-great-in-part-because-of-what-they-ask-of-their/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“T. S. Eliot wrote almost a century ago about a phenomenon that he believed to be the product of the nineteenth century: “When there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/t-s-eliot-wrote-almost-a-century-ago-about-a-phenomenon-that-he/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Christian writers, whether they like it or not, do not simply write for themselves; for good or ill, readers will see their work as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/christian-writers-whether-they-like-it-or-not-do-not-simply-write-for/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Dehaene even allows himself a few moments of (justifiable) annoyance at the way that "childhood reading experts" continue their debates about the best strategies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/dehaene-even-allows-himself-a-few-moments-of-justifiable-annoyance-at/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Slow down. Make a point of revisiting passages that seem especially rich, or especially confusing, or for that matter especially offensive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/slow-down-make-a-point-of-revisiting-passages-that-seem-especially/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“For heaven’s sake, don’t turn reading into the intellectual equivalent of eating organic greens, or (shifting the metaphor slightly) some fearfully disciplined appointment with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/for-heaven-s-sake-don-t-turn-reading-into-the-intellectual-equivalent/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“In a lovely book called On Hope, Josef Pieper explores Thomas Aquinas' theology of hope along these lines: the hopeful person is by definition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/in-a-lovely-book-called-on-hope-josef-pieper-explores-thomas-aquinas/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) [Explore all 27 Alan Jacobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The blessing of Google is its uncanny skill in finding what you're looking for; the curse is that it so rarely finds any of those lovely odd things you're -not- looking for. 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