Looking for some answers? Ask Hunch.
Children jump off a pier into the waters of the Caribbean Ocean as the sun sets in the distance on the island of Roatan off the coast of Honduras, where Hunch thinks I should visit.
Zuma/Newscom
Trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight?
Wondering if you should buy an iPhone?
These are all questions people are asking on Hunch.com, a new website that aims to answer your random questions and curiosities about life.
Hunch isn't the newest form of Ask.com. The New York-based company, which launched its site to the public today, doesn't call itself a "search engine." What separates it from question-and-answer sites such as Yahoo, Answers, Mahalo, and Ask is Hunch's ability to ask users questions in order to find out more about their likes and dislikes. The more questions you answer, the better Hunch can assist you in making decisions. Hunch's decision algorithm was developed by computer scientists at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. Currently, Hunch offers answers to 2,400 decision topics, 14,000 follow-up questions, and more than 50,000 outcomes.
Since I'm pretty indecisive (especially when I'm staring at a restaurant menu listing more than 100 items and have no idea what to order), and I am very nosy and ask tons of questions, I thought I'd give Hunch a test-drive.
The query: Where should I go on vacation?
First, Hunch asked me a few questions so we could get better acquainted:
*Would I rather be near the beach or ocean or in an urban area?
*Which continent would I like to visit?
*Would I be traveling alone, with kids, or with a significant other?
*When would I be traveling?
*Am I looking for a destination where celebrities go frolic?
After answering everything, the website generated three suggestions:
1) Roatan, Honduras
2) Jamaica
3) Dominican Republic
My question also generated a wildcard travel destination: Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
As you can probably guess, I wanted to travel someplace warm and in the Caribbean. And in case you wondering, no, I didn't care if I could do some celebrity sight-seeing (sorry, Hunch).
Let us know what you ask Hunch – and whether you like its suggestions.
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