A real challenge...
 |
| The "Walkie Talkie" building in central London has a giant unanticipated consequence. At certain times of day, the windows reflect the sun's rays to a point creating a hot spot that can damage cars unlucky enough to be parked at the focus. |
... for doing online research (what we call SRS) is figuring out what to use for the search terms and phrases.
For most people and for most research questions, figuring out what search terms to use is not a huge problem--in truth, people mostly look up fairly simple things. (What's the phone number of my local pharmacy? When is the swimming pool open? Is there a grocery store near me?) The vast majority of online searches are like that--straightforward requests for information.
But then every so often you land in a really difficult research swamp, and it's tough to figure out how other people would write about the very concepts you're interested in learning about.
As you no doubt know by now, I'm working on a new book about Unanticipated Consequences (see my earlier post about this). And even though I'm a full couple of years into the project, I find myself STILL trying to figure out how to find books, articles, web pages, podcasts, news stories (etc.) on the topic.
That's why today's SRS Challenge is all about how to deal with this kind of problem.
Suppose you're doing research on a topic that's big, complicated, and difficult to render in just a few words. How do you start to search for such a beast? More particularly:
1. What can a researcher do to find other words and phrases that would help in doing online searching for such a topic? Let's consider my topic--unanticipated consequences--how can we find other helpful search terms and phrases to seek out and understand this topic? Ideas?
2. Same question, except this time I want to search for books on the topic of unanticipated consequences. (Yes, I know I can go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, AbeBooks, Google Books, or the Internet Archive.) What's the best way to find the top 10 books on the topic?
Note that we want to learn HOW you'd find such search terms or books. What process did you follow to come up with search terms that work for your last big, complex, and tricky search?
Tell us in the comments!
Keep searching.
there is no best way, but it is a helpful search term…
ReplyDeletea start, no doubt ground you have already covered… knock-on effects - American sociologist Robert K. Merton
https://www.google.com/search?q=other+names+for+unanticipated+consequences-&rlz=1CAACAC_enUS1032&oq=other+names+for+unanticipated+consequences-&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.12249j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
in the news -https://www.google.com/search?q=examples+of+knock+on+effect&sca_esv=17afe526102f7a29&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CAACAC_enUS1032&tbm=nws&sxsrf=ADLYWIIFGB7zxfOR2cN8FDbqB7puiqU8Ig:1724860980459&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiByJvwh5iIAxUgLDQIHbWeHzQQ_AUICCgD
case study example -https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-26534-y
was the internet around in 1859? (effect dodged by temporal sequencing)Carrington Event
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event
https://www.astronomy.com/science/a-large-solar-storm-could-knock-out-the-internet-and-power-grid-an-electrical-engineer-explains-how/
Ignaz Semmelweis - ctrl.F
https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-real-life-examples-of-the-law-of-unintended-consequences-in-action
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=17afe526102f7a29&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CAACAC_enUS1032&sxsrf=ADLYWIKy6MOHd8Nu5aZ94JlQ2GDEPVExFg:1724861427033&q=Top+10+books+on+the+topic+of+unintended+consequences+pdf&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinoZTFiZiIAxUpITQIHWLWGLAQ1QJ6BAgAEAI
unintended consequences are like rabbits or zebra mussels -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequences
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia
a novelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_Consequences_(novel)
type in "unintended" and let the suggestions populatehttps://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C6&q=unintended+consequences&btnG=&oq=unintended
2024 examples -https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2024&q=unintended+consequences&hl=en&as_sdt=0,6
https://www.bing.com/search?q=unintended+consequences&filters=ufn%3a%22Unintended+consequences%22+sid%3a%22b49087e4-3fe6-4bf6-676b-afc1d10e21bd%22&asbe=LS&qs=MB&pq=unintended+&sc=10-11&cvid=59AA17802128448188F1917C97FE9EE9&FORM=QBRE&sp=1&lq=0
https://youtu.be/vu24zN-01IE?si=UMhfc7V0sFuhjZ9n
a stadium fullhttps://www.bing.com/search?q=2024+Summer+Paralympics&form=hpcapt&filters=HpDate:%2220240828_0700%22
another bithttps://artsandculture.google.com/story/animals-living-in-the-dmz-national-institute-of-ecology/twVRv8x4gE_fWw?hl=en
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/20/710054899/in-korean-dmz-wildlife-thrives-some-conservationists-worry-peace-could-disrupt-i
the unintended consequences of search engines?https://www.searchenginejournal.com/hreflang-quirk/519410/
https://tech.hindustantimes.com/opinion/want-to-avoid-fake-news-just-step-away-from-google-71705168459656.html
&
https://www.google.com/search?q=effects+of+loss+of+gravity&rlz=1CAACAC_enUS1032&oq=effects+of+loss+of+gravity&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.11959j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
seems grave - (mistaking one for the other - unintended consequences - grave, grave, gravy)
ReplyDeletethink of all the floating hares down-under… for four seconds
https://science .howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-earth-lost-gravity-for-five-seconds.htm
if everything is an UC, are there any unintended consequences?
ReplyDelete"Unintended consequences can be either positive or negative. A positive unintended consequence is an unanticipated benefit that emerges from an action. Adam Smith's notion of the “invisible hand” is one example of a positive unintended consequence."
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/unintended-consequences-csr-spring-2014.pdf
Fortunately, not everything is a UC. Sometimes people actually think about things before they push the launch button!
DeleteI should think more before pushing the comment/publish button! 🚀💥🔘
Deleteam now spending more time off screen raising cobras ;^P
https://www.toptenz.net/10-fascinating-examples-of-unintended-consequences.php
https://nesslabs.com/cobra-effect
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoy_No_Circula
doesn't always require a button -
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/05-09-2005-chernobyl-the-true-scale-of-the-accident
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_Nuclear_Power_Plant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_the_Chernobyl_disaster#Long-term_health_effects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Forest
https://abcnews.go.com/International/ukraine-wildfires-close-chernobyl-extinguished-rain-falls/story?id=70138987
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perverse_incentive
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/upshot/medicare-tries-an-experiment-to-fight-perverse-incentives.html
Senryu
“What’s this for?”
Says the carpenter
as he saws it off."
https://www.britannica.com/art/senryu
https://shorturl.at/sxsUj
Deletehttps://www.quora.com/What-do-the-other-buttons-near-the-Chernobyl-A3-5-in-the-Reactor-3-Control-Room-mean
Deleteradiation altered beach
Deletehttps://i.imgur.com/RWop1aL.jpeg
one other example of possible terms - the Babs effect, Malibu
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
"The Streisand effect is an unintended consequence of attempts to hide, remove, or censor information"
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/barbra-streisand-malibu-house
https://www.smh.com.au/national/memo-to-political-campaigners-remember-barbra-streisand-s-mansion-20220324-p5a7lc.html
https://www.echofineproperties.com/barbra-streisands-oceanside-oasis/
198.68 degrees fahrenheit
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiK3tcjJXiA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Fenchurch_Street
makes sense, the owners cook…
https://usa.lkk.com/
it does have a view
Deletehttps://www.rvapc.com/works/20-fenchurch-street/
In the really old days you could hope that the tilde (~) would help you on Google although sometimes it gave some really odd results. (I once did a search for ~Aluminium as I wanted to capture Aluminum also and any other terms. At the top of my results listing was Al Jolson, Al Qaeda and other similar terms. It didn't take long to realise this was because Al is the chemical symbol for Aluminium. Today that's not possible so I used to use harder approaches - searching for the term I wanted and then seeing if synonyms would turn up. But now there's ChatGPT and similar. So I put in this prompt: "I'm trying to find books on the topic of "unanticipated consequences". What synonyms should i use in searching for this topic?"
ReplyDeleteI got the following - no idea how many are good so I'd need to check each one.
• Unintended consequences
• Unexpected outcomes
• Collateral effects
• Side effects
• Ripple effects
• Unexpected repercussions
• Secondary effects
• Unforeseen outcomes
• Hidden consequences
• Accidental consequences
• Indirect effects
• Spillover effects
• Unexpected results
• Serendipity (for positive unanticipated consequences)
• Backfire effects
You can combine these with broader concepts such as "policy," "technology," "social change," "economics," or "decision-making" to refine your search further.
I thought it odd that "black swan" wasn't listed so I asked again. (It's useful to have some ideas to back up what the AI gives you).
"Black Swan" is indeed a relevant term when exploring the topic of unanticipated consequences, especially in the context of rare, high-impact events that are difficult to predict. Here are some additional related terms that might be useful:
• Black Swan events
• Chaos theory
• Butterfly effect
• Emergent phenomena
• Systemic risk
• Tipping points
• Complexity theory
• Cascading failures
• Disruptive events
• Unknown unknowns
• Contingency theory
• Rare events
• Outliers
• Wild cards (used in futures studies)
• High-impact low-probability (HILP) events
These terms can lead you to literature that delves into the unpredictability of certain events and their broader consequences.
Nice. What I would have done.
Delete
ReplyDeleteI then asked "Can you suggest key books or experts and authors on this topic - focusing on the idea that an action taken for positive reasons may have consequences that could not have been anticipated at all - positive or negative." and got several books / authors. I have no idea how relevant these are without
a) verifying they are real and not examples of hallucinations
b) relevant.
One approach I could take (but haven't) is to repeat the approach with Claude or Perplexity or Gemini... As I'm not sure that Kahneman wrote on the topic. He's an expert in bias.
But here's the book list and author list.
Certainly! There are several key books and authors who have explored the idea of unintended consequences, especially in the context of actions taken for positive reasons that lead to unforeseen results. Here are some influential works and experts on the subject:
Books
"Unintended Consequences" by Edward Conard (2012)
This book explores how innovations, particularly in finance and technology, often have unintended and unforeseen consequences. Conard focuses on the economic and social impacts that were not anticipated by policymakers or innovators.
"The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2007)
Taleb’s work is foundational in understanding the concept of Black Swan events—unpredictable, rare events with significant consequences. While not solely about unintended consequences, the book delves into how rare, unforeseen events can arise from seemingly positive actions.
"Side Effects and Complications: The Economic Consequences of Health-Care Reform" by Casey B. Mulligan (2015)
This book examines how healthcare reform in the U.S., intended to improve health outcomes, led to unintended economic consequences, such as reduced work incentives and employment.
"Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond (1997)
While not exclusively focused on unintended consequences, Diamond’s work discusses how the development of agriculture and technology led to unforeseen changes in human societies, including inequality, disease spread, and social stratification.
"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman (2011)
Kahneman, a Nobel laureate in economics, explores how cognitive biases and decision-making processes can lead to unintended consequences. The book provides insights into how human thinking can lead to unexpected outcomes, both positive and negative.
"The Road to Serfdom" by Friedrich Hayek (1944)
This classic work warns of the unintended consequences of government intervention in the economy. Hayek argues that well-intentioned policies can lead to a loss of freedom and economic inefficiency.
"Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed" by James C. Scott (1998)
Scott examines how large-scale social engineering projects, often initiated with positive intentions, have led to disastrous unintended consequences due to oversimplification and lack of local knowledge.
Experts and Authors
ReplyDeleteNassim Nicholas Taleb
A leading thinker on randomness, risk, and uncertainty, Taleb’s work is essential for understanding the concept of unintended consequences, especially in the context of rare and unpredictable events.
Daniel Kahneman
Kahneman’s research on human cognition and decision-making is highly relevant to the study of unintended consequences, particularly how cognitive biases can lead to unforeseen outcomes.
Robert K. Merton
A sociologist who first coined the term “unintended consequences,” Merton’s work laid the foundation for much of the contemporary understanding of the concept. His essays and papers on the topic are seminal.
Jared Diamond
As an interdisciplinary thinker, Diamond’s work often touches on the unintended consequences of environmental and technological changes across human history.
James C. Scott
Scott is known for his critical analysis of state-led social and economic projects, showing how they often produce unintended, negative outcomes.
Friedrich Hayek
Hayek’s work on economics and political theory explores how centralized planning and intervention can lead to unintended negative consequences, despite positive intentions.
These books and authors provide a robust foundation for exploring the concept of unintended consequences, especially in the context of actions taken with positive intentions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/books/chapters/0422-1st-tale.html
Deletehttps://t.ly/LcDOw
interesting write up -
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/business/daniel-kahneman-dead.html
Diamond
https://youtu.be/20Gb0JcviRA?si=dLjdhDelZ2NtvUrE
Scott, also recently dead
https://politicalscience.yale.edu/news/james-c-scott-passed-peacefully-his-home-durham-ct-july-19-2024
F. A. Hayek
“A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers.”
would Jordan Peterson make the list?
My initial thoughts
ReplyDeleteI think that in order to find about the topic it's important to know our level of knowledge about it. If you know something then you can work around to move forward.
I'd search for # used in posts with similar topics or nothing on them technical words.
Making the topic smaller. If we search using the style of around () it's probable we find something helpful.
I think videos could be helpful. Once we find an interesting case, searching for that can lead to more.
About books. We can use [ similar to "name of author we already know] or [Similar to "name of the book we know]
Dr. Russell's famous list of can also help. [ List of most sold books "subject searched"]
Sometimes I found useful visiting book tab to get new names to add my query.
On Amazon, checking the top list for that subject, is another tool.
Years ago, I needed to find about packaging. Without Internet was more complicated. I'm glad we now have more options
I was thinking. Unintended Consequences happens in all the world and in every language. It's true that most of the Internet is on English. However, a tool to find in different languages is also very helpful.
DeleteAlso thinking about those events that are mentioned in comments on video platforms. That, however, is something I don't know if it's possible to search for in a good, efficient way
sharp dresser
ReplyDeletehttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Semmelweis_Ign%C3%A1c_1864.jpg
https://semmelweis.hu/english/2019/07/closing-ceremony-of-the-semmelweis-memorial-year-in-chicago/
current example - unintended kinda…
ReplyDeletehttps://apnews.com/article/wolves-business-deer-science-environment-and-nature-90a1504254242227e9aa2b326f3fa383
"The repopulation of Wisconsin with gray wolves has reduced deer-related traffic accidents by about 24 percent in counties where wolves live. Wolves use roads as travel corridors and their renewed presence there keeps the deer away."… and reduced the need for new kindergartens, previously planned & of course, wolf/vehicle interactions are way up… & the amount of roadkill meat in local freezers is way down… the good & bad of every unintended comment… & don't even mention wolf insurance - rates have sky-rocketed - subsidies (for the wolves & dependents) in the offing?
Earlier studies showed a large reduction when vehicles were banned & cougars were added to the mix… duh…
oddly, the dark swan populations are swelling…
https://cdn.britannica.com/46/173446-050-BF6BEFE1/bird-Australian-Black-Swan-Marwell-Zoo-England.jpg
randomness: (searching consequences)
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICD-11
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSM-5
https://www.instagram.com/marya.hornbacher/p/C3JkFwHu0R3/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marya_Hornbacher
https://maryahornbacher.substack.com/p/extra-extra
fertile ground for the unintended… unanticipated consequences-- AI and warfare
ReplyDeletehttps://www.analyticsinsight.net/artificial-intelligence/ai-in-warfare-why-google-deepmind-employees-are-protesting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Nimbus
file:///home/chronos/u-93042eddcdc14df563ec94f24f987b8c6f99ace6/Downloads/433,+Published+22-5-24.pdf
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C6&as_ylo=2024&q=unanticipated+consequences--+AI+and+warfare&btnG=
sidetrack - anybody of any idea what this is?
https://rb.gy/gjpxas
1. What can a researcher do to find other words and phrases that would help in doing online searching for such a topic?
ReplyDeleteI'll admit that I chuckled to myself when reading this question. It made me think of "What's another word for thesaurus?" ;-)
Since I've been playing the New York Times game Connections, I've found Power Thesaurus to be quite robust. I would start there.
Find synonyms for "unanticipated consequences" on Power Thesaurus
Love this comment. "Use a thesaurus, but especially a POWER thesaurus." I didn't know about this before. Thanks.
DeleteI also didn't know about power thesaurus. So, I searched [difference between thesaurus and power thesaurus] Reddit link gave me the answer: Crowd sourced. It has phrases.
DeleteOn another comment. The person says that he uses LLMs to ask for different ways to say a thing. For him that works pretty well.
For question 2. What's the best way to find the top 10 books on the topic?, my first thought is to question what you mean by "top"? Modifying another common phrase "What is popular is not always TOP and what is TOP is not always popular."
ReplyDeleteI think we've covered the subjective qualifiers before.??
I was continuing to think about this yesterday. How would determine what would filter to top. Since I had ruled out popularity in sales, I wondered about whether the number of citations could be used. But what if people were citing the book because they were pointing out errors in it?
DeleteThen to reinforce that point, this came through today in the Hacker News feed.
Exclusive: the papers that most heavily cite retracted studies
Data from giant project show how withdrawn research propagates through the literature.
So, how does a person measure what would be the top 10 books in a area of research?
you found an interesting site:
ReplyDeletehttps://dbrech.irit.fr/pls/apex/f?p=9999:1::::::
used [experts in the field of unintended consequences] books
https://www.google.com/search?q=experts+in+the+field+of+unintended+consequences&sca_esv=3cd07ac50fd5c89b&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CAACAC_enUS1032&tbm=bks&sxsrf=ADLYWIJPCN5hwSTl0YdgeB-e5bq4NJlEUQ:1725201999688&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZu-2i_qGIAxUNGzQIHZItJe0Q_AUIBigB
https://www.bing.com/search?q=experts+in+the+field+of+unintended+consequences+books&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&lq=0&pq=experts+in+the+field+of+unintended+consequences+books&sc=10-53&sk=&cvid=0785D23A8FF94AF1A49606FC554D1D09&ghsh=0&ghacc=0&ghpl=
https://www.bing.com/search?q=experts+in+the+field+of+unintended+consequences&form=QBLH&sp=-1&lq=0&pq=experts+in+the+field+of+unintended+consequences&sc=9-47&qs=n&sk=&cvid=ABF01BCAFBE24A7A87F1BD71DA4D0143&ghsh=0&ghacc=0&ghpl=
from MIT
https://law.mit.edu/pub/unleashing-the-power-of-frameworks-analyzing-unintended-consequences-in-legal-decision-making/release/1
Olga Mack
https://law.mit.edu/user/olga-mack
https://docket.acc.com/author/olga-v-mack
I built two tools to address the problem of needing additional query terms when searching for a topic. I tested both of them with your query "unanticipated consequences." Both tools I tested are available at SearchTweaks.com, which is free and free of ads. The site works best on desktop.
ReplyDeleteThe first tool is called Wiki-Guided Google Search. which searches the intralinks on Wikipedia article to find related concepts to the ones you're searching for. When I tried searching for unintended consequences, I got query word recommendations which were both specific (North American Free Trade Agreement, Eliza Armstrong case) and conceptual (Perverse incentive, Structural functionalism).
The second tool is called Clumpy Bounce Topic Search, which again uses Wikipedia. It determines the categories a page belongs to, determines the most popular pages in that category, and makes the ten most popular pages available for bundling into an external Google search. This time when I searched for unintended consequences, I discovered the category "Consequentialism" and generated a search containing the terms unintended consequences, "Consequentialism", and "Experience machine", which dropped me deep in the wilds of philosophy search results.
I hope these tools are useful to you.
a game
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse#Picture_consequences
https://www.etymonline.com/word/consequences#etymonline_v_29576
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequences_(game)
fwiw, I seem to be in the "missing comments" bin again? randomness…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_number_generation
weeds:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872141/
consequences:
https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/negotiation-skills-daily/in-negotiation-is-benevolent-deception-acceptable-nb/
a small offering to mathlady if she is still about…
ReplyDeletewhat happens when the numbers don't add up,down or sideways? maybe still an unintended consequence.
As Dan posits: "How can you find search (formulate) phrases beyond your own brain's power to imagine?"
https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/aug/31/alexander-grothendieck-huawei-ai-artificial-intelligence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Grothendieck#External_links
https://www.grothendieckcircle.org/
does it always necessitate a cowl and a revolver?
UC in the news -
ReplyDeleteperhaps AI can assist in the future so this lesson doesn't have to be repeatedly learned?
restitution & rehabilitation can take years. This seems to be a flawed "solution" to
a flawed situation…
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-japanese-island-eradicates-rabbit-mongoose.html
some by chance, some by intention.
"More than 37,000 alien species have taken hold worldwide far from their places of origin, costing upwards of $400 billion a year in damages and lost income, a UN panel said in 2023."
https://www.barrons.com/news/japanese-island-eradicates-rabbit-killing-mongoose-32581ee0
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/japanese-island-eradicates-rabbit-killing-mongoose/articleshow/113061173.cms
some of the elements:
Habu -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protobothrops_flavoviridis#Usage_by_humans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habushu
Amami rabbit(Pentalagus furnessi)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amami_rabbit#Endangered_species
https://www.britannica.com/animal/rabbit/Diversity-and-conservation-status#ref800384
Mongoose
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongoose
speaking of -
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-homo-sapiens-became-the-ultimate-invasive-species/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amami_%C5%8Cshima
more Amami - nice images
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nippon.com/en/images/i00064/the-amami-rabbit-a-living-fossil-in-the-wilds-of-amami-oshima.html
" in 1921 it was the first ever species to be designated by the Japanese government as a natural monument. I only learned this, though, when Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited Amami Ōshima in October 1984 in his capacity as president of the World Wildlife Fund."
Hamada 浜田 太 profile:
https://www.nippon.com/en/images/i00064/the-amami-rabbit-a-living-fossil-in-the-wilds-of-amami-oshima.html#
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yMNqCSHm6c
a version for Ramon, courtesy of Nippon.com,
(well designed site – imho):
https://www.nippon.com/es/images/i00064/
also by Hamada Futoshi
https://www.nippon.com/en/images/i00065/the-ancient-flora-and-fauna-of-amami-oshima-and-tokunoshima.html