It’s a site for sore ears

In an odd and serendipitous corner of the Web, Marek Gibney has created what he calls “the global network of dreams,” www.gnod.net, “a search-engine that finds things you don’t know about.” The site, which Gibney describes as “my experiment in artificial intelligence,” includes a feature called “Tell me what you like, I tell you what to like” that asks users to name three favorite films, books or bands and then suggests a choice that may not be familiar. Elsewhere, a visitor can type in the name of a writer or musician and view the names of others whose work might appeal.

Write “Wagner” and a pile of names spills across the screen, scattering into a shifting constellation. “The closer two artists are, the greater the probability people will like both artists,” the site explains. Soon, one inexplicably finds ‘70s Finnish rock band Hassisen Kone resting next to Wagner, with Brahms nearby. In another corner, Rachmaninoff communes with Louis Armstrong. Wait a minute or two and the names might crawl into new arrangements.

For those so inclined, the juxtapositions can spark a playful set of musings -- what might Bach and World Wide Message Tribe have in common? (Skeptics might simply wonder what sort of algorithms Gibney is using.)

“People travel a lot, get bombed with music, etc., 24/7 and choose from a very broad range of choices in every aspect of life,” says Gibney, who lives in Hamburg, Germany. “However, there is a limit that cannot be overcome: You can only screen so much music, books, etc. So you will not be able to make optimal decisions simply because your time is limited. Now we can let computers do the work!” -- for better or worse.

-- M.T.J.