Buddhists Win Google Stereotypes

And here, folks, is our shared blog post of the day. From Joe. My. God.

No judgments. What we find most interesting is the potential for Google Instant search to shape the way we think.

When you begin a Google search with the question “Why are [Christians, Jews, Muslims] so … ,” you get the above suggestions. The same query regarding Buddhists yields only “happy.”

UPDATE FROM JOE: It’s not listed in the above-linked story, but I’ve done the same query on atheists.

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Comments

  1. suzanne says:

    This is a great observation. Really.

  2. mordicai says:

    I keep seeing this but am I the only one who thinks “woah, Orientalism is alive & well, huh?”

  3. Gabi says:

    I feel like it’s worth pointing out that Google’s algorithm is affected by the way its users search. So while it has the potential to influence us, it’s actually influenced by us. For better or worse, I suppose.

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