RE: handling many matches

[Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

> > Relatively little of that power/accuracy comes
> > from it learning from your habits (your previous
> > searches etc.).  It mostly comes from back links,
> > i.e., how many links a URL has from other URLs.
> 
> AFAIK, this is outdated.  It's how search engines
> worked several years ago.  They are much smarter nowadays.

"Relatively" is the key word there.  And "mostly".

> > Of course, links among web pages in turn reflect
> > user use patterns (including searches).  But not
> > just your own use patterns.
> 
> I have evidence that my personal details and previous searches do
> affect the results.

Did you read where I acknowledged that?  Clearly
the search engine's knowledge of you, your location,
your search history, your browser history, etc.
have a large influence on what hits you get and the
order you see them presented.

Regardless, your and my searches, in general, will
have a lot of hits in common, and so will the order.