The information, it turns out, came not from MOCA but from Google, churned up without the aid of human hand or brain but by the algorithmic genie and its ability to sample zillions of search results and helpfully plunk down the most relevant bits of information.

Fink trusted what he saw and arrived downtown to find locked doors. MOCA, he learned, is in fact closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, not open seven days a week as his Google search suggested. Traffic hadn't been too bad, so the futile round trip had cost him only about 75 minutes.

Nevertheless, Fink said in an email, "I was angry and ready to yell at someone." He dialed the museum's visitor services department, and his wrath was quickly assuaged as he learned that MOCA wasn't too thrilled either.

"The nice woman told me that they have had this problem for some time and have asked Google to fix it but Google hasn't done anything. She said that people have traveled far greater distances than from Beverly Hills, with only limited time in L.A., only to learn that MOCA was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays."