Anyone who has worked in a process plant, such as a chemical process or electrical power plant, has probably met many equipment operators who know very little of the technical basis for the equipment they operate.
Back in 1988, I gave a three-day course on the basics of distillation to a class of about 15 persons, including chemical equipment operators. I wrote the course and gave the instruction in Baton Rouge, LA. At the end of the course, I collected and read the evaluation forms left behind. It was quite clear that a few of the attendees had very strong opinions about my presentation of a few very elementary mathematical formulas during the course.
One person made it clear that he had no interest whatsoever in seeing anything resembling a mathematical formula. Seeing an “equals sign” made up of two short parallel horizontal segments, one placed on top of the other, (like =), during a course on basic distillation concepts, was a major turn-off. I got a negative rating from this reviewer.
At the other extreme, I got a good review rating from an equipment operator who said he actually appreciated learning a little about the mathematical concepts behind the chemical processes taking place hidden inside the equipment which he was responsible for operating.
So, I received mixed reviews. Go figure!
The analogy here is that a patent searcher does not necessarily “know” all the technology used to manipulate and mine the database data to uncover the relevant documents. This includes verifying correctness of the database (corresponding to whether the chemical equipment operator knows what is really inside the equipment and whether it is what it should be). The searcher simply finds matching patterns that appear to correspond to the desired inventive features, just as the equipment operator simply operates the equipment according to visual and other cues provided by the equipment such as pressure and temperature gauges.