For those interested in issues related to information overload, an eloquent discussion that stands up well to the test of time can be found in Neil Postman's 1992 book, _Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology_ (New York: Alfred A. Knopf). Among my favorite passages in this book: "From millions of sources all over the globe and beyond, through every possible channel and medium -- light waves, airwaves, ticker tapes, computer banks, telephone wires, television cables, satellites, printing presses -- information pours in. Behind it, in every imaginable form of storage -- on paper, on video and audio tape, on discs, film, and silicon chips -- is an even greater volume of information waiting to be retrieved. Like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, we are awash in information. And all the sorcerer has left us is a broom. Information has become a form of garbage, not only incapable of answering the most fundamental human questions, but barely useful in providing coherent direction to the solution of even mundane problems. To say it still another way: The milieu in which Technopoly flourishes is one in which the tie between information and human purpose has been severed, i.e., information appears indiscriminately, directed at no one in particular, in enormous volume and at high speeds, and disconnected from theory, meaning, or purpose.... We are a culture consuming itself with information, and many of us do not even wonder how to control the process. We proceed under the assumption that information is our friend, believing that cultures may suffer grievously from a lack of information, which, of course, they do. It is only now beginning to be understood that cultures may also suffer grievously from information glut, information without meaning, information without control mechanisms." (pp. 69-70) Janet Sternberg, Ph.D. Fordham University Media Ecology Association http://www.media-ecology.org Jeff Young wrote:
Hi,
I thought folks on this list might be interested in an article in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education about information overload and the social impacts of technology. The article is free to anyone (even non-subscribers):
Knowing When to Log Off http://chronicle.com/free/v51/i33/33a03401.htm
Also, we're hosting an online chat about the issues this Thursday: http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2005/04/overload/
-Jeff
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