Reading Reflections 4-10-2006
Perhaps these articles have been rendered irrelevant by recent advances such as Google. Or perhaps I’m a touch more technologically savvy then what they portray as the average user in their writings. I can say without much of a stretch however that I’ve very rarely had trouble finding the information I’ve needed, when I needed it. While I would agree that a great deal of the information available to us these days is trivial, sensational and in many cases false, I would also say that finding good information is nowhere near as treacherous or convoluted as the articles would suggest. All it takes is a touch of skepticism and practice.
I couldn’t find an exact date on these articles but looking at their references and the technology used as examples I would guess they come from the mid 90’s to no later then 2000. The warnings within them however strike me as the typical sky is falling type of concerns that occur whenever any new technology is adopted. Technology invariably evolves towards greater accessibility and functionality, and as the information load increases so to will the capabilities of technology to handle it. EPIC probably lands somewhere close to the mark as far as information sorting technology goes in the next decade. Whether or not that actually leads to a generation of armchair intellectuals is anyone’s guess.
For me the increasing amount of information at our disposal is a vital and necessary part of defining 21st Century culture, and of defining who we are as individuals. Whether it be for work, class or leisure I find that the breadth and depth of news and data I have access to be deeply enriching and highly useful. While in the 17th Century it might have been acceptable to know less in your lifetime about the world then one edition of the New York Times, in the 21st Century given the speed and interconnectedness of life in the modern day, we need the information we have. If anything the only real concern I have with the amount of information we have, is that when we don’t get it, there is a very tangible vacuum.
3 Discussion Questions
1: Do you find yourself having trouble with “clutter” and frivolous information when doing research?
2: Do you think you could function without regular access to the internet?
3: Is EPIC possible? Is it necessary given increasing rapidity of news?
I couldn’t find an exact date on these articles but looking at their references and the technology used as examples I would guess they come from the mid 90’s to no later then 2000. The warnings within them however strike me as the typical sky is falling type of concerns that occur whenever any new technology is adopted. Technology invariably evolves towards greater accessibility and functionality, and as the information load increases so to will the capabilities of technology to handle it. EPIC probably lands somewhere close to the mark as far as information sorting technology goes in the next decade. Whether or not that actually leads to a generation of armchair intellectuals is anyone’s guess.
For me the increasing amount of information at our disposal is a vital and necessary part of defining 21st Century culture, and of defining who we are as individuals. Whether it be for work, class or leisure I find that the breadth and depth of news and data I have access to be deeply enriching and highly useful. While in the 17th Century it might have been acceptable to know less in your lifetime about the world then one edition of the New York Times, in the 21st Century given the speed and interconnectedness of life in the modern day, we need the information we have. If anything the only real concern I have with the amount of information we have, is that when we don’t get it, there is a very tangible vacuum.
3 Discussion Questions
1: Do you find yourself having trouble with “clutter” and frivolous information when doing research?
2: Do you think you could function without regular access to the internet?
3: Is EPIC possible? Is it necessary given increasing rapidity of news?
posted by Theo at 3:47 PM
1 Comments:
Hi, Theo!
The first has no date - the second is 2003 (it's in the citation on the reading assignment page)
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