Hello,

I have a rudimentary understanding of Computer Hardware Characteristics
I have a rudimentary understanding of Computer Network Architecture
I have a rudimentary understanding of Computer Programmming
I have a rudimentary understanding of Computer Data Mining

If a search returns the "Highest Common Denominator" between "Quick
Brown Fox" I can't figure out why it wouldn't take a week to return
the result.

Question: Can you help me out (with an emphasis on the *TIME* involved
in this process)?

ShivShiv

For a very rough answer check

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine#How_search_engines_work

with emphasis of (2)Indexing and (3)Searching. You can look up more details 
for the technologies mentioned there if you want to. Further speedup can be  
achieved by distributing the load over many servers and many server locations.

The question is very general for a more detailed answer. Be aware though that 
as you get more specific, implementation details start to matter a lot, and 
most of them are proprietary, and not disclosed by the search engine companies 
as they are the core of their business!