The Twitter & Google Uncertainty Principle

Twitter is focused on the now.

Google is driven by the all.

Together, you can get a bit more certainty out of uncertainty.

OK, thinkers. Remember college physics—that class in quantum mechanics?

Of course, you don't. And the Heisenberg Principle shouldn't mean much to you either. But let's go over it, just for a little fun.

The Heisenberg Principle states that certain pairs of physical properties can't be accurately known at the same time. The most common of these is the position and the velocity of a particle or object. You can measure, to exacting specifications, the speed of an object, but you will compromise your ability to nail down the position. 

And that works the other way around, too. You can measure a position, but your ability to measure velocity is decreased. It’s a bit of a Faustian bargain, where the totality of information for a given object is limited. And this is an important insight into the physical world.

This core principle of physics offers an interesting comparison to navigating the complex world of information—particularly with Twitter and Google. These platforms both reveal a wealth of information as a function of speed and vast content. Twitter gives you the relevance "in the moment," and Google provides a "consolidated depth of information." Together, they create the yin/yang to understanding the contemporary relevance of information as it exists in aggregated form.

So, you can know how relevant and timely something is (do a Twitter search), and you can see the comprehensive depth of information (do a Google search). To a certain degree, one comes at the expense of the other, and the intrinsic duality emerges. But together, you can get a bit more certainty out of this uncertainty. And in today's world—defined by a tweet or post or dissertation—a sense of truth might be the most important perspective we can desire.