Borehole Logging, a Dummy Description

Borehole logging tool

Some of the freelance articles our staffers turn up on the 'net are only off by a little bit: sloppy punctuation, misspelled technical terms, minor calculation errors. Others make a far more significant contribution to what we like to call the "stupidification of the internet." Those are the ones we single out for our DotD awards, contributions like those made by freelancer Amy Hunter in her WiseGEEK.com post, "What is Borehole Logging?"

It took our staffer exactly eighteen words to realize that Hunter had absolutely no clue about her topic. We'll highlight the pertinent words so you don't have to count:

"Borehole logging, or well logging, is a process where a probe is dropped into a borehole prior to drilling for oil, gas, water, or minerals."

Now hold on, Amy: how do you drop this "probe," as you call it, into a hole before you drill it??? Hunter went on in a similar vein, spouting nonsense that made us wonder just what she used as a reference.¹ She continued her introduction, such as it is, by telling her readers that,

"Borehole logging is also performed by environmental organizations, as part of an environmental or geotechnical study."

Ummm, yeah: "environmental organizations..." We duuno, like the Sierra Club? Greenpeace? Idiot: some borehole logging is carried out as part of an environmental study, but it's performed by governmental agencies or for-profit companies. Idjit.

When it comes to just what these activities entail, Amy showed that she was also ignorant of the purpose and methods of logging:

"A geophysical log is a log created by a special probe lowered into the borehole that gathers the information passively."

A) they call them tools, not "probes"; and B) only a few "geophysical" tools are passive. Most generate some sort of "signal" – sound, radioactivity, electricity – that is read by a receiver after it interacts with the subsurface strata. That's active, not passive. And what do they measure? Hunter says,

"Well logging tools are very sensitive, and can measure for radioactivity, electrical currents, electromagnetic waves, and acoustical activity."

Ummm, yeah, they're sensitive. The rest of that claim? It's only half an explanation: see the discussion immediately above. Oh, and that "electromagnetic waves" stuff? WTF, Amy? More goofiness ensues:

• "The information recorded on the well log never makes it to the top of the hole; instead, it travels digitally to the company's office." – Again, WTF?
• "The company will use the data compiled in the bore log to determine if an area has oil or gas reserves, and if it is worthwhile for drilling." – Again, the company has already drilled a hole!
• "Many companies specialize in well logging, and travel from site to site ahead of the main work crew performing borehole logging." – Wait, what? Who is this "main work crew," anyway?

Such is the folly of asking some random J-school grad or an out-of-work English major to explain a fairly technical topic. It's especially futile if the article is "fact-checked" and "edited" by another J-school grad or out-of-work English major (e.g., WiseGEEK's Andrew Jones). Either one or both deserves their own Dumbass of the Day award.

¹ WiseGEEK never publishes references, pretending that their freelancers were the ultimate authority. Yeah, sure...

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