I ran across a post by Data Science consultant, Cathy O’Neil, with a chart comparing the number of Google searches done by for Global Warming and Black Friday. You can see Cathy’s thoughts on this at http://mathbabe.org/2012/11/21/black-friday-resistance-plan/.
I created my own chart (through Google) comparing the number of searches for Black Friday, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. This chart can be seen below. (Please note that the dotted lines are projections done by Google for 2013.)
Personally, I like the fact that mathematics has been above (referring to number of searches) the other search fields since July 2011. I am, however, surprised by the fact that Technology is so low and continuing to lower. Cathy, like others, seem to find it appalling that Black Friday surpasses other important search terms and that it continues to grow in hype. I think as a seasonal event, this should be expected. Thankfully interest in Black Friday is only in spurts during a small span around the actual day. I take solace that for most of the year, Mathematics sees more searches than Black Friday.
What are your thoughts? Do you think the fact that searches for Black Friday surpasses searches for STEM fields is a negative reflection upon the US?
