How to Find Out Anything

10 Putting It All Together

Few things are truly hidden anymore. It was romantic once to know about something that no else did, like a rare jazz record or an undiscovered gem of a book. The days of obscurity are over. Thanks to Google, the databases of the deep web, online research materials, electronic books, and the knowledge stored in the minds of smart people with whom we can talk, even the most arcane fact is waiting in the open for us.

The process of finding things out means making connections.

Regardless of what new wonders technology may bring us next, one thing will always be true about research: The process of finding things out means making connections. I clearly remember one night when I was walking up Essex Street in New York, near where I live. I saw a young couple fumbling with their iPhones and looking around at the street signs, trying to figure out where they were. (In case you were wondering, New Yorkers can spot lost tourists from two blocks away.) Finally, the young lady managed to look away from her smartphone long enough to ask me, “Excuse me, which way is Rivington Street?” I pointed them in the right direction, and they went happily on their way.

Research tools are merely ways for you to find out what someone else already knows.

The tools you need to find out information are exactly that: They are means to serving a larger end. It doesn’t matter whether you’re busy Googling for a salient fact or working the phones to track down an expert at a federal agency; research tools are merely ways for you to find out what someone else already knows. They are remarkable, no doubt, and I am amazed each day at the power we have to locate the most exotic bits of information. But as you tackle projects, keep in mind one of the famous passages from E. M. Forster’s novel Howard’s End. “Only connect…. Only connect the prose and the passion and both will be exalted.” Connect to websites, to books, and to your own imagination. But ultimately the secret to knowing how to find out anything means learning how to connect with people. Exactly how you do it is up to you. Throughout this book, I’ve shown any number of ways to go about it, but in the end, you must ask the right questions, find the right resources, and, most important, connect.

Ultimately the secret to knowing how to find out anything means learning how to connect with people.