One of the biggest problems for search is homographs.
Especially problematic are IT domain homographs, when one
actually wants to find the real world item.
Examples:
Ethernet switch - where the term switch means things with sets of contacts with a mechanical actuator to change the set of contact positions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch – and where instead one gets the IT term related to protocol switching (hubs, repeaters, bridges and routers). My best attempts were to replace Ethernet with RJ45 or TCP/IP and to add the term “selector”, “rotary” or “contact” or other physical specifier. The same problem largely applies to any “network-type” switch (optical, packet, etc.) when one is looking for an on/off, disconnect, or manual selector for that media.
Ethernet switch - where the term switch means things with sets of contacts with a mechanical actuator to change the set of contact positions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switch – and where instead one gets the IT term related to protocol switching (hubs, repeaters, bridges and routers). My best attempts were to replace Ethernet with RJ45 or TCP/IP and to add the term “selector”, “rotary” or “contact” or other physical specifier. The same problem largely applies to any “network-type” switch (optical, packet, etc.) when one is looking for an on/off, disconnect, or manual selector for that media.
Big data for mining – where the term mining means the mining
(coal, precious metals) industry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining – and where instead
one gets the IT term for data mining. My best attempts were to search for physical/resource
mining and then use their search engines to back into big data. http://www.mining.com/
3D model – where one means physical (real world
instantiated) model
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_model – and one instead gets the IT terms related to computer
aided design (CAD) and virtual 3D modeling. Even refining and adding 2D from 3D
or “physical” gets many of the same references to CAD. And there is an
additional “fashion model” ambiguity as well. The real and virtual model discussion are now so closely
connected that there does not seem a good way to differentiate. Discussions
related to 3D printing seem to have a good way of segmenting the topic by
materials used. But if a 3D model is made of /paper/ then the world of CAD
printing gets mixed with the world of real 3D physical models made of
paper/card.
Interestingly enough:
Search – where one means looking in the real world for a
person/place or thing
(Oddly Wikipedia does not even have a page for old-school
“search” as in search and rescue or finding lost people/places/things) – and
one instead gets the IT terms related to web or Internet search. Searching for
the problem of homograph search is itself a homograph search problem.
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