Atlantis Database

[Lt. Col. John_Sheppard]

I have always wondered about the Lantean Database. It is always said that there are solutions to many problems there, but they cannot be found in a timely fashion as there is just a staggering amount of information. This sounds like something very similar in our world. You know, that little thing called the "Internet". Ever heard of it? Anyway, my point is that it takes forever to find something on the internet. That's why search engines such as Ask and Google were invented. They search through all the information for you, on the basis of a few key words.
Could something like this not be used for the Database? Or, does something like it exist, and we just don't know the URL?
My last point is that someone like McKay, who is able to write macros for Intergalactic Stargate systems should be able to recreate Google, should he not?

[Dodgified]

theres a few threads on this.
it does have a search function its what daniel and vala used in the pegasus project.
But we don't know what the ancients called things.
In before i sleep Janus asked weir what we called ZPMs which means they don't call them zpms. and well if we could make zpms, drones, etc. We'd be too powerful and too safe.

[Quadhelix]

Could something like this not be used for the Database? Or, does something like it exist, and we just don't know the URL?
My last point is that someone like McKay, who is able to write macros for Intergalactic Stargate systems should be able to recreate Google, should he not?

Even if we could find or create "GoogleAncient," it is quite possible that it would return so many results for any search term used that it would take many lifetimes just search through the search results. After all, using a search function like Google can narrow the field only so much: beyond a certain point, you have to go through the results with actual human beings.

[stargater1990]

theres a few threads on this.
it does have a search function its what daniel and vala used in the pegasus project.
But we don't know what the ancients called things.
In before i sleep Janus asked weir what we called ZPMs which means they don't call them zpms. and well if we could make zpms, drones, etc. We'd be too powerful and too safe.

actually we could figure out what they called ZPMs pretty easily. we just pull up the citys shcematics and specifications and find the room that the ZPMs are pluged into and read its description and it should say something like "this room is designed to house the blank" and whatever is in the blank is the ancient word for ZPM.

Even if we could find or create "GoogleAncient," it is quite possible that it would return so many results for any search term used that it would take many lifetimes just search through the search results. After all, using a search function like Google can narrow the field only so much: beyond a certain point, you have to go through the results with actual human beings.

actually if the ancients were even remotely intelligent they would have organized the database in such a way searching through it should be easy. i mean all they would have to do is seperate all of the info into catagories and sub-databases like history, the arts, and science and technology. then into eras or some type of system that sorts outdated tech with modern tech and so then to search for something you just specify what sub-database and then what era and then what kind of tech your looking for and there are many other ways to narrow down search results because pretty much everything the ancients have is different in some way and if you include that difference in the search you should find exactly what your looking for.

i mean i hate it when people say that the ancients would make a database that you cant really find what your looking for because the ancients would ocassionally need to look something up like an experiment conducted a few hundred years ago or some small fact and if it takes weeks just to find anything whats the point of even having the database?

[Quadhelix]

i mean i hate it when people say that the ancients would make a database that you cant really find what your looking for because the ancients would ocassionally need to look something up like an experiment conducted a few hundred years ago or some small fact and if it takes weeks just to find anything whats the point of even having the database?

True, but just because it is easy for an ancient to find something in the database doesn't mean that it is easy for a normal human. The Ancients have had millions of years of background that we do not. As an example, most people in the modern world know about electricity and nuclear fission, even if they do not know the exact details. They know, at the very least, that electricity travels through metal wires and that you need Uranium if you are going to try to do anything "nuclear." However, a scientist from 1,000 years ago (let alone a million years or more) wouldn't have the foggiest clue about uranium, electricity, or anything else to do with nuclear power generation.

[stargater1990]

True, but just because it is easy for an ancient to find something in the database doesn't mean that it is easy for a normal human. The Ancients have had millions of years of background that we do not. As an example, most people in the modern world know about electricity and nuclear fission, even if they do not know the exact details. They know, at the very least, that electricity travels through metal wires and that you need Uranium if you are going to try to do anything "nuclear." However, a scientist from 1,000 years ago (let alone a million years or more) wouldn't have the foggiest clue about uranium, electricity, or anything else to do with nuclear power generation.

but it should be as simple as entering the search parameters and the people in atlantis know enough about advanced technology to fix it and opperate it and even build some of it so they should have the nessisary info to give the search engine just enough info to find what they are looking for. i mean yes the ancients would proboly be better at the database than we are but we should be good enough to find most of what were looking for provided we know enough about it.

really it should only be a problem trying to find something when you dont really know what your looking for but will know it when you see it because then it could take a long time to search through the massive amount of data but that wont be the case when you know exactly what your looking for.

[Lt. Col. John_Sheppard]

but it should be as simple as entering the search parameters and the people in atlantis know enough about advanced technology to fix it and opperate it and even build some of it so they should have the nessisary info to give the search engine just enough info to find what they are looking for. i mean yes the ancients would proboly be better at the database than we are but we should be good enough to find most of what were looking for provided we know enough about it.

really it should only be a problem trying to find something when you dont really know what your looking for but will know it when you see it because then it could take a long time to search through the massive amount of data but that wont be the case when you know exactly what your looking for.

This is my point exactly. I think the ancients, being as smart as they are, should have done something this simple.

[Rise Of The Phoenix]

I have always wondered about the Lantean Database. It is always said that there are solutions to many problems there, but they cannot be found in a timely fashion as there is just a staggering amount of information. This sounds like something very similar in our world. You know, that little thing called the "Internet". Ever heard of it? Anyway, my point is that it takes forever to find something on the internet. That's why search engines such as Ask and Google were invented. They search through all the information for you, on the basis of a few key words.
Could something like this not be used for the Database? Or, does something like it exist, and we just don't know the URL?
My last point is that someone like McKay, who is able to write macros for Intergalactic Stargate systems should be able to recreate Google, should he not?

Like others have said you can search for specific stuff in the database but you need to know what to look for, you know the Ancient's names for things otherwise you'd just be looking through a particular field of data, like medical tech, power generation, sensor records, or Janus's secret 100th birthday party circa 50,110,000.
My point is even narrowing things down and knowing the particular field you need it'd still take time to find what you want.

[Dragon_Heart]

Yeah, well i doubt very much the ancients made it for human convienience. Im pretty sure that they could access what ever they needed pretty easily, but if rodney made a search tool it would take forever to go through the entire database to search for what you want. Even when its complete, it would take a lifetime to go through the search results. Even if you entered specific search parameters, it would take even longer to search for it. Besides, if it was that easy, we would be the most advanced race in stargate on our plane. (except for maybe the nox). So in-turn it would ruin the show, and the same goes for the asgard database.

[peragrin]

An intelligent person knows how little they really know.

a simple quiz.

What generates the largest amount of electricity on earth?
1) coal
2) uranium
3) natural gas
4) steam
5) hydro
6) wind
7) tidal

If you can answer that question the there is hope that you can understand why searching the atlantian database isn't as simple as google. if you can't then you won't even be able to understand the complexities around the issues.

Spoiler:

No peaking

Spoiler:

The Answer is Steam.
Uranium, coal, natural gas etc. all generate heat which boils water which creates steam, used to spin turbines that generate electricity.

Using the Internet and google that the people who ask this quetion always seem to forget, that you won't find on google.

1)The complete technical blueprints of refining uranium
2)The blueprints of the machines that can actually do said refining.
3)The technical blueprints of the buildings, and materials need to construct the buildings.
4)The technical knowledge to build said buildings.
5)The technical knowledge to build the machines that can monitor said buildings and systems.

Other things you won't find on google that you use every day. Blueprints for the optical mouse, blue prints for your tv, technical blueprints, for most buildings, Technical blueprints for the F-22.

The Internet is General knowledge. If you want specifics you have to know what it is your talking about, and where to look in non connected machines. you have to have an idea what you are talking about before you can get details.

I am sorry if this sounds mean or condescending but you need to know the unvarnished truth. not everything is on the internet. It isn't even close. Why would you assume the atlantians would put everything in their database? janus didn't use it for his work, so why do you assume everyone else did?

[Rise Of The Phoenix]

Yeah, well i doubt very much the ancients made it for human convienience. Im pretty sure that they could access what ever they needed pretty easily, but if rodney made a search tool it would take forever to go through the entire database to search for what you want. Even when its complete, it would take a lifetime to go through the search results. Even if you entered specific search parameters, it would take even longer to search for it. Besides, if it was that easy, we would be the most advanced race in stargate on our plane. (except for maybe the nox). So in-turn it would ruin the show, and the same goes for the asgard database.

An intelligent person knows how little they really know.

a simple quiz.

What generates the largest amount of electricity on earth?
1) coal
2) uranium
3) natural gas
4) steam
5) hydro
6) wind
7) tidal

If you can answer that question the there is hope that you can understand why searching the atlantian database isn't as simple as google. if you can't then you won't even be able to understand the complexities around the issues.

Spoiler:

No peaking

Spoiler:

The Answer is Steam.
Uranium, coal, natural gas etc. all generate heat which boils water which creates steam, used to spin turbines that generate electricity.

Using the Internet and google that the people who ask this quetion always seem to forget, that you won't find on google.

1)The complete technical blueprints of refining uranium
2)The blueprints of the machines that can actually do said refining.
3)The technical blueprints of the buildings, and materials need to construct the buildings.
4)The technical knowledge to build said buildings.
5)The technical knowledge to build the machines that can monitor said buildings and systems.

Other things you won't find on google that you use every day. Blueprints for the optical mouse, blue prints for your tv, technical blueprints, for most buildings, Technical blueprints for the F-22.

The Internet is General knowledge. If you want specifics you have to know what it is your talking about, and where to look in non connected machines. you have to have an idea what you are talking about before you can get details.

I am sorry if this sounds mean or condescending but you need to know the unvarnished truth. not everything is on the internet. It isn't even close. Why would you assume the atlantians would put everything in their database? janus didn't use it for his work, so why do you assume everyone else did?

I completely agree with both of these guys, if I can give you both green I will coz I think it's much deserved.

[Professor D.H.D. Puddlejumper]

I am sorry if this sounds mean or condescending but you need to know the unvarnished truth. not everything is on the internet. It isn't even close. Why would you assume the atlantians would put everything in their database? janus didn't use it for his work, so why do you assume everyone else did? [/SPOILERS][/SPOILERS]

The information on the internet is not compiled or co-ordinated by any one authority or school of knowledge in the same way that say, the Encyclopedia Britannica is. Information on the internet comes from thousands of different independent sources around the globe, much of it voluntary. The Ancients' database is likely a more coordinated compilation of their race's knowledge, under the guidance what is probably a central core of scholars for the purpose of producing a database that contains at least all of the general knowledge (science, history etc.) of their race. The internet, great a resource that it is, has no single guiding hand. Granted, I do agree that the database would not contain many specific aspects of their knowledge. (weapon plans, spaceships etc.) I'm not disagreeing with everything you're saying, just the comparison between the database and the internet.

Good quiz, incidentally. I got it wrong, of course.

[knowles2]

Well let face it any ancient search engine would be way smarter than our current ones. Our future ones will use semantic technologies, natural languages, A.I, built to able to use knowledge and not just to read it but to understand it, it will even create it own answers to questions to question it is ask. I have scene a demonstration of prototype of this in development, it amazing.

Consider some of the newest search engines coming out in the next couple years, you will be able to ask questions such as How to building a computer and instead of answering with a bunch of websites it will produce a page which will give you the actual answer and explain how you go about building a pc instead of just a bunch on websites.

If we capable of creating above, then the ancient version would be way smarter and way more interlligence. The type of questions it be able to produce answers for would be "Need weapon to blow up wraith ships" "Need power for Atlantis" The search engine would know to look for stuff on ancient power systems and generators and what could power Atlantis and show us how to build it.

If the ancient search engine was even remotely as powerful as this we would then become to powerful and that would make life hard for the writers which is why they constantly skip around any stories which involve us learning to build things or using what we have discovered.

In fact the ancient version of search engine would very similar in design to the Asurans program but probably without self awareness or access to any of the other systems.

[Lt. Col. John_Sheppard]

An intelligent person knows how little they really know.

a simple quiz.

What generates the largest amount of electricity on earth?
1) coal
2) uranium
3) natural gas
4) steam
5) hydro
6) wind
7) tidal

If you can answer that question the there is hope that you can understand why searching the atlantian database isn't as simple as google. if you can't then you won't even be able to understand the complexities around the issues.

Spoiler:

No peaking

Spoiler:

The Answer is Steam.
Uranium, coal, natural gas etc. all generate heat which boils water which creates steam, used to spin turbines that generate electricity.

Using the Internet and google that the people who ask this quetion always seem to forget, that you won't find on google.

1)The complete technical blueprints of refining uranium
2)The blueprints of the machines that can actually do said refining.
3)The technical blueprints of the buildings, and materials need to construct the buildings.
4)The technical knowledge to build said buildings.
5)The technical knowledge to build the machines that can monitor said buildings and systems.

Other things you won't find on google that you use every day. Blueprints for the optical mouse, blue prints for your tv, technical blueprints, for most buildings, Technical blueprints for the F-22.

The Internet is General knowledge. If you want specifics you have to know what it is your talking about, and where to look in non connected machines. you have to have an idea what you are talking about before you can get details.

I am sorry if this sounds mean or condescending but you need to know the unvarnished truth. not everything is on the internet. It isn't even close. Why would you assume the atlantians would put everything in their database? janus didn't use it for his work, so why do you assume everyone else did?

I understand your point. I am not saying that everything is on the internet, but a huge amount of information about many topics is. I merely compared the internet to the Database in this way. I realize that the Database is very complex, but a simple search function is a very viable option. I used the example of Google, because it can sift trough billions of sites (reputable or not, they are there).

By the way, I answered your quiz correctly, but just because my Electricity Professor just gave us the same quiz.

[Lt. Col. John_Sheppard]

Also in response to Peragrin, I do not assume that the Lanteans put everything in their database. I do, however, assume that the knowledge stored in the database is knowledge that humankind would benefit from greatly. Also, it is not everything, but the information stored there is alot more than we know.