Yes, I can imagine that search engine folks always thought the web would be some oracle. But if you have been using the web since its debut you know that it isn't. Search results are a list of results (links, i.e., addresses/locations of the sources), not an "answer". The oracle idea (that all searches are questions with an "answer") is only realistic to some programmers. When I go to the library and search for sources (books, journals, etc), I might have a question in mind to which I seek an answer, but at the library I am only searching for the location of the sources. I do not expect an "instant answer" from the library's search terminals. In any event, not all searches are questions. Does Google Scholar return "instant answers".
For the query you tested, I could only retrieve 101 results. Could you get more than that. If you can retrieve more than 300 results (the actual results pages with the links, not just a line about how many results were "found"), I would like to know what headers you sent. I do not think this is possible anymore.
Interesting if you believe critical thinking skills are not on the decline.
Google does provide answers to simple questions, and its capabilities grow over time. Wolfram Alpha has operated in a similar domain, but using different technology (i.e. not inherently a search engine) for some time now.
I didn't suggest that critical thinking was declining. I don't have a position on whether it is or is not - I can think of several different factors that would (collectively) push in both directions.
For the query you tested, I could only retrieve 101 results. Could you get more than that. If you can retrieve more than 300 results (the actual results pages with the links, not just a line about how many results were "found"), I would like to know what headers you sent. I do not think this is possible anymore.
Interesting if you believe critical thinking skills are not on the decline.