I have found one thing disturbing about autocomplete: Suppose I find a new "association" between 2 ideas, one of which is rare. I intend to follow the relationship up as a researcher or a programmer. Because of the rarity of the first topic, it is suggested to anyone who types in the first keyword - (s)he discovers the association for free, courtesy of my flash of inspiration and my carelessness to search it on google.
It is surprising in the history of mathematics how often the same results are proven simultaneously in several places - see for example, the HOMFLY polynomial. It is as though the "result was in the air". Now this is a concrete way of leaking such information so that if any one makes a connection, it "leaks" to others.
It is surprising in the history of mathematics how often the same results are proven simultaneously in several places - see for example, the HOMFLY polynomial. It is as though the "result was in the air". Now this is a concrete way of leaking such information so that if any one makes a connection, it "leaks" to others.