What are "Serendipitous Searches?" Serendipitous Searches will send you down a path of surprising, sometimes accidental, but always useful discoveries where each twist in the journey is determined by you. You will link to NC WiseOwl and other search engines to conduct searches on strange or unusual topics related to what you’re studying in Social Studies, Science, and Healthful Living. Prepare to be amazed when you compare the number of hits from different types of searches that use the same or similar keywords.
This week’s Serendipitous Search will take you to the mystical mountain in Peru called Machu Picchu. Just close your eyes and you can smell its fresh jungle greenery and see this undisturbed oasis rising high above the clouds. Feel the moss covered stone walls surrounding the abandoned temples and palaces. Many say this mysterious ancient complex was abandoned before the Spaniards reached South America, but no one knows exactly why. Are you brave enough to compare some of the really weird rituals and beliefs held by such ancient cultures?
- There was hot controversy over the proposed building of a cable car to take tourists to the Machu Picchu mountaintop, otherwise known as the Lost City of the Incas. Get drawn into the debate and decide if you agree with the conservationists or believe the government needs to get its way.
- The Mayas believed that people with crossed eyes were beautiful. Find out what the mothers did to their children so they would eventually become cross-eyed.
- Learn more (if you dare) about an ancient civilization that placed Orangutan lips at the top of their list of "Most Delicious Foods Available."
- How is a cloud forest different from a rain forest? (Machu Picchu is a cloud forest.)
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#1 The Serendipitous Search Statement |
#2 Click on the link below, then PASTE the statement from #1 in the site's search box. |
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"Machu Picchu" AND "cable car" NOT commercial"Machu Picchu" AND Inca NOT "cable car" |
Grab a sheet of paper and record the number of "hits" for this search. What's the difference? Why? |
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+Aztec +Inca +Maya +Aztec +Inca +Maya -"lesson plan" (There is a space after each word, but not after the + |
All the WebType or paste the search statement in the search box of All the Web. Note how this search engine uses + for AND and - for NOT. Read the site’s Help section for more information. |
Grab a sheet of paper and record the number of "hits" for this search. What's the difference? Why? |
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Ancient Civilization |
Use your school’s electronic catalog of the media center’s collection (OPAC) for searching on any of these topics or other related topics. Ask your Media/Technology Specialist to work with you if this is your first time using the OPAC. |
Don’t automatically rush to the Internet for information. There are many times when books, software, CD-ROMs or human experts provide the best source of information. |
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Do you have trouble finding letters on your keyboard? Do this instead -- Drag your cursor over the entire search statement to highlight it, then select COPY from the menu bar at the top of your window. |
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Compare the number of "hits" and the different search strategies. What does this information tell you? |
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Look over the hits from each search and explore the titles that grab your curiosity, then travel down grand information paths to explore new and interesting territory.
The lesson for every hitchhiker now traveling on the information highway: The best things in life happen not as planned, but by accident.
-Fast Company writer, Harriet Rubin