how sure are you
Lately, it seems like I have noticed what appears to be an increase in language that seems to convey a sense of uncertainty. For example, when I search for something on Google, and it can't find anything, it frequently responds by saying something like this:
Setting aside for a moment the question of what a "great" match is, I feel caught off guard by Google's apparent use of the phrase "It looks like" in this context.
It feels like, somehow, Google doesn't even have total access to its own database, and therefore must preface itself with "It looks like" because it isn't really entirely sure. "It looks like there are no matches" seems quite different than "There are no matches", but apparently, that means the same thing according to Google... or does it?
It looks like they use this type of strangely defensive, uncertain language in other places too. For example, if you search for an image using Google Images, and scroll a little bit, it pauses and says:
If what they're about to show me might not be what i'm looking for, does this seem to suggest that I should have already found what I have been looking for from the great image matches they've already shown me? I curiously click "see more anyway" to see what it has to say next; There appears to be several more images that might not be what i'm looking for.
Determined to find any great match in the pool of images that might not be what I'm looking for, I continue scroll and scroll, and it finally looks like i've reached the end:
From what i can tell, it looks like I've reached the end. Apparently, I can no longer scroll any further; I also probably wouldn't go as far as to say I actually have reached the end.