Monday, November 09, 2015
Hey, that's neee.... no.
Sorta cute news item...
The New York Public Library will try to defend its title as the world's quickest library-sorting system against Washington state's King County Library System. The New York Times reported that on Tuesday morning, mechanized conveyor belts in both libraries will start rolling for one hour. In New York, a multimillion-dollar unit dubbed the "Tin Man" sorts bar coded items. At last year's fourth annual contest, New York took the title by coming in with 12,570 in an hour - 702 more than the Seattle area crew. The two competitors are tied at 2-2.First thought: It's neat that libraries are trying to do something lively and 'viral'. Contests between grocery baggers or hotel cleaners are good for the employees, who rarely get a chance to shine, and good publicity for the stores and hotels. Second thought: No. It's not a contest between HUMAN sorters. It's not human vs machine like John Henry. It's only a competition between MACHINES, which means a budget-size contest. New York is going to win on average because New York has more money. Stupid. ¶ 5:23 AM
