There are several search engines, with Google, Yahoo and Bing being the biggest players. Each search engine has its own proprietary computation (called an “algorithm”) that ranks websites for each keyword or combination of keywords.
Julie Brinton
How did I get to a place where “algorithm” re-entered my regular lexicon, a word I happily lost after college calculus, only to resurface years later regarding internet feeds? Products and services track us down using algorithms based on our online searches and interests. Never sleeping, they pursue us like hounds on the hunt.
Last fall, in Florence, Italy, I took part in a private cooking class led by a group of Italian caterers and long-time home cooks. From three wonderful women, I learned to prepare Pasta Carbonara from scratch.
So delicious I dreamed about it. Several times. I planned to make it at home, but not much of a cook, I needed help in remembering exactly how to do so.
I found a promising recipe matching my Italian mamas’ teaching. I fixed the dish. It tasted authentic and fabulous. I saved the recipe for future meals.
Then, for months, my social media feeds summoned ads displaying Carbonara, and pasta, and olive oil, and Italian meals. Over and over. I triggered an Italian algorithmic tsunami.
Thanks to a plate of pasta, I understood that if I wanted more attention from people across the worldwide web, I needed to manipulate the algorithms.
Like the gods, I want the algorithms to work for me.
I attempt to manipulate GOD in the same way.
I try to game the system with God. I use key religious words, like blessed and grateful and sinner. I attempt bona fide actions, by giving a bit more money, or pausing for a neighbor.
Always wondering, what optimizes the system? Seems silly, when I think about it.
Silly in reality because there’s no need to manipulate. The Lord is already listening, even as I fail and choose poorly and force my agenda on the people around me. Even in my silent hypocrisy.
Amazingly, unexpectedly, astoundingly – words cannot express my attempt to grasp this truth – God listens to you and me. The God of the universe bends an ear towards us.
David, a flawed king with plenty of ups and downs, shares his insight in song:
I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
Psalm 66:17-20
No algorithm needed. God hears. Thank you, Lord.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
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