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Hack 10. Look Up Definitions
Do you find yourself smiling knowingly when your boss mentions that well-known business principle that you've never heard of? Overwhelmed with "geek speak"? Chances are Google's heard it mentioned—and possibly even defined—somewhere before. Most specialized vocabularies remain, for the most part, fairly static; words don't suddenly change their meaning all that often. Not so with technical and computer-related jargon. It seems like every 12 seconds someone comes up with a new buzzword or term relating to computers or the Internet, and then 12 minutes later it becomes obsolete or means something completely different—often more than one thing at a time. Maybe it's not that bad. It just feels that way. Google can help you in two ways, by helping you look up words and by helping you figure out what words you don't know but need to know. 1.22.1. Google DefinitionsBefore you assume you're going to be in for a lot of Googling, try the define search syntax mentioned in the "Quick Links" section earlier in this chapter. Simply prepend the definition you're after with the special syntax keyword define, like so: define google define julienne define 42 Google tells us that these are defined as "most important spidering search engine," "cut a vegetable into long thin matchsticks," and "being two more than forty," thanks to to Juice New Media's Search Engine Glossary, The Youth Online Club, and WordNet at Princeton, respectively. Click the associated "Definition in context" link to visit the page from which the definition was drawn. Click the "Web definitions for..." link or prefix the word you're defining with define: (note the addition of a colon) in the first place, and you'll net a full page of definitions drawn from all manner of places. For instance, define:TLA finds turns up oodles of definitions (all about the same, mind you), as shown in Figure 1-24. Figure 1-24. A page chock-full of definitions for TLA
If all that didn't turn up anything useful, move on to Google Web Search proper. 1.22.2. SlangWe have distinctive speech patterns that are shaped by our educations, our families, and our location. Further, we may use another set of words based on our occupation. When a teenager says something is "phat," that's slang—a specialized vocabulary used by a particular group. When a copywriter scribbles "stet" on an ad, that's not slang, but it's still specialized vocabulary or jargon used by a certain group—in this case, the advertising industry. Being aware of these specialty words can make all the difference when it comes to searching. Adding specialized words to your search query—whether slang or industry jargon—can really change the slant of your search results. Slang gives you one more way to break up your search engine results into geographically distinct areas. There's some geographical blurriness when you use slang to narrow your search engine results, but it's amazing how well it works. For example, search Google for football. Now search for football bloke. Totally different results set, isn't it? Now search for football bloke bonce. Now you're into soccer narratives. Of course, this is not to say that everyone in England automatically uses the word "bloke" any more than everyone in the southern U.S. automatically uses the word "y'all." But adding well-chosen bits of slang (which will take some experimentation) will give a whole different tenor to your search results and may point you in unexpected directions. You can find slang from the following resources:
Start out by searching Google for your query without the slang. Check the results and decide where they're falling short. Are they not specific enough? Are they not located in the right geographical area? Are they not covering the right demographic—teenagers, for example? Introduce one slang word at a time. For example, for a search for "football," add the word "bonce" and check the results. If they're not narrowed down enough, add the word "bloke." Add one word at a time until you get the results that you want. Using slang is an inexact science, so you'll have to do some experimenting. Here are some things to be careful of when using slang in your searches:
1.22.3. Industrial SlangSpecialized vocabularies are those used in particular subject areas and industries. The medical and legal fields are good examples of specialized vocabularies, although there are many others. When you need to tip your search to the more technical, the more specialized, and the more in-depth, think of a specialized vocabulary. For example, do a Google search for heartburn. Now do a search for heartburn GERD. Now do a search for heartburn GERD "gastric acid". You'll see each of them is very different. With some fields, finding specialized vocabulary resources will be a snap. But with others, it's not that easy. As a jumping-off point, try the Glossarist site at http://www.glossarist.com, which is a searchable subject index of about 6,000 different glossaries covering dozens of different topics. There are also several other large online resources covering certain specific vocabularies. These resources include:
As with slang, add specialized vocabulary slowly—one word at a time—and anticipate that it will narrow down your search results very quickly. For example, take the word "spudding," often used in association with oil drilling. Searching for spudding by itself finds only about 4,300 results on Google. Adding Texas knocks it down to 581 results, and this is still a very general search! Add specialized vocabulary very carefully or you'll narrow down your search results to the point where you can't find what you want. 1.22.4. Researching Terminology with GoogleFirst things first: for heaven's sake, please don't just plug the abbreviation into the query box! For example, searching for XSLT will net you over two million results. While combing through the sites that Google turns up may eventually lead you to a definition, there's simply more to life than that. Instead, add "stands +for" to the query if it's an abbreviation or acronym. "XSLT stands +for" returns around 194 results, and the third is a tutorial glossary. If you're still getting too many results ("XML stands +for" gives you almost 3,000 results) try adding beginners or newbie to the query. "XML stands +for" beginners brings in 227 results, the third being "XML for beginners." If you're still not getting the results you want, try "What is X?" or "X +is short +for" or X beginners FAQ, where X is the acronym or term. These should be regarded as second-tier methods, because most sites don't tend to use phrases such as "What is X?" on their pages, "X is short for" is uncommon language usage, and X might be so new (or so obscure) that it doesn't yet have a FAQ entry. Then again, your mileage may vary and it's worth a shot; there's a lot of terminology out there. If you have hardware- or software-specific terminology—as opposed to hardware- or software-related—try the word or phrase along with anything you might know about its usage. For example, as a Perl module, DynaLoader is software-specific terminology. That much known, simply give the two words a spin: DynaLoader Perl If the results you're finding are too advanced, assuming you already know what a DynaLoader is, start playing with the words beginners, newbie, and the like to bring you closer to information for beginners: DynaLoader Perl Beginners If you still can't find the word in Google, there are a few possible causes: perhaps it's slang specific to your area, your coworkers are playing with your mind, you heard it wrong (or there was a typo on the printout that you got), or it's very, very new. 1.22.5. Where to Go When It's Not on GoogleDespite your best efforts, you're not finding good explanations of the terminology on Google. There are a few other sites that might have what you're looking for:
Geek terminology proliferates almost as quickly as web pages. Don't worry too much about deliberately keeping up—it's just about impossible. Instead, use Google as a "ready reference" resource for definitions. |
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