In this day and age whenever you have a query it is common to pick up a device and simply Google it. Need to know how the weather will be today, in Tokyo? Google. Want to learn the history of how chewing gum was invented? Google. However more often than you may realize Google does not have all the answers.
For many questions, the answers will be far less than reliable. An interesting example Vox news reported was about the question, "Why are fire trucks red?". The subsequent answer for the longest time was a quote from a Monty Python joke; "Because they have eight wheels and four people on them, and four plus eight is twelve, there are twelve inches in a foot, and one foot is a ruler, and Queen Elizabeth was a ruler, and Queen Elizabeth was also a ship, and the ship sailed the seas, and in the seas are fish, and the fish have fins, and the Finns fought the Russians, and the Russians are red, and that is why firetrucks are red!" Now, this is obviously not the right answer, however, you may not always realize when an answer you receive will be to this degree of fallacy.
In some cases, the answers do not paint the whole picture. During the 2016 presidential election, President Donald Trump, the then-candidate, often mentioned that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. If wondering whether this is a true claim or not, one may Google, "Was Abraham Lincoln a Democrat or Republican?". Google would then answer that Lincoln was a part of "The National Union Party", a name used by the Republican Party for the national ticket. However, what Google will not tell you straightforward is that the Republican and Democratic parties gradually switched after the Civil War and entirely by the 1980s. This means that Lincoln's ideals aligned with today's Democratic party rather than Republican.
The point is you need to do your own research.
With all the information in the world summed up into one search engine, there is bound to be some sort of answer available but Google is more of a communicative engine than a scholastic one. People post and communicate their ideas on the web from all around the globe and that has made for a rich intellectual community. But, it does not make sense to trust every single person and source on the internet. You may ask a professor the same question you are willing to Google but you would not be as willing to ask a complete stranger about Plank's Law or the history of the European Union.
Do not stop using Google. This search engine is a useful tool that has revolutionalized how we access information. However, don't allow the convenience of Google to stop you from getting to credible and useful responses. All you have to do is take responsibility for what you accept and take the time to evaluate for credible sources and applicable answers. Being strict as to what you choose to believe can give you the power to overcome bias media, internet trolls, baseless claims, and forms of modern-day propaganda lurking on the web. The Internet is an amazing place for information and collaboration when used responsibly.
