Editorial

Follow us: facebook.com/SignificanceMagazine x.com/signmagazine linkedin.com/in/significance-magazine/ @significancemag.bsky.social In the past two decades or so, Americans have searched Google about death more than they have films, TV, even baseball. This stop-you-in-your-tracks observation, revealed by Google's data editor, Simon Rogers, has been on my mind ever since reading Kathryn Torney's excellent interview with him (page 26). Why are so many of us scouring the internet for answers on the greatest mystery of all? Naturally, I asked Google (“why are we all so obsessed with death?”) and it seems that it isn't necessarily due to collective, global depression, but part of our survival instinct. This is powerful, poignant data that helps us understand each other as a species and, like all the findings in Simon's new book, defies the notion that data analysis is a somehow cold, mechanical pursuit. (On the subject of Google… If you're reading this, you are clearly a discerning and thoughtful person who believes quality publications are a Good Thing. Well, on the off chance you don't already know, the “zero-click search” – in which Google users don't read past the AI overview at the top of their search results – is killing web traffic, which in turn is making the future of publishing look rather challenging. So please always click one of the reputable links lower down the page. Thank you!)