True story, but it's not just being the first to do a google search. From personal experience I've also seen that how you use google and what variants of your search terms you can come up with that make the biggest difference in getting to the right answer/method.
The problem is: when you get to a certain level of skill, or are working on very obscure problems, or are working with hightech (even yet-to-be-released) stuff, not even google will help you anymore. That's where how good of a programmer you really are comes into play.
Additionally, you need the skill and knowledge to be able to tell a good solution from a bad one in the many results you'll get back from a given search.
So...if you're working on a really obscure problem, I'd consider you a researcher before considering you a programmer. (Or perhaps a programming researching). That skill set is immensely different from the standard programmer's skill set. Google skills are still vitally important, but interpreting the results quickly become the dominating factor when you're doing something no one has done before.
I agree. Those that know the right questions to ask are those that understand their problems, understand their deficiencies, and are just looking for a targeted piece of knowledge that they may be missing.
The problem is: when you get to a certain level of skill, or are working on very obscure problems, or are working with hightech (even yet-to-be-released) stuff, not even google will help you anymore. That's where how good of a programmer you really are comes into play.