Coming To Terms With The Information Age
It's a fascinating thing this world we live in.
In the modern western world and more and more
parts of the less modern global community, it
is perfectly possible to educate oneself, for instance,
in the field of chemistry... Or astronomy... Music,
the arts or literature...
Or, even... Quantum physics, or the theories of new thought...
Any of these disciplines and hundreds, or perhaps thousands
more...
are all available for us to choose. To learn and become knowledgeable about.
How could any one of us fail to find something. Something.
Of interest. Worthy of pursuit.
One hundred years ago, our lives were so vastly more restricted
In terms of time. In terms of access to information. In terms of
sheer man hours required for basic living requirements.
Yet most of us remain.
Stuck in the era of another age.
Grappling with questions far more relevant to the
generations which came before us than to ourselves.
Unable to understand, transcend, or become
the next possibility
Instead we become
the latest statistic.
The intelligent age is far more than upon us.
Our children and grandchildren are born in and of it
knowing it
living it
We can choose
To become lost
in the sea of noise
Or to stitch our perfect thread
through the eye of the needle
into what pleases, amazes and delights us
and entertains the world
as well.
Do not look for what great problem needs solving
They come of their own accord.
rather, look for what dream needs investigating?
What stirring of curiosity, intent and joy
calls me forward. Right now. Today.
The evolution of our own world in our lifetimes
is evidence enough
Our ability to identify and find what we seek
is directly corollary to our ability to intelligently search.
The one thing that is a requirement of an infrastructure
based on knowledge and information is
a damn good librarian.
In fact, a reference librarian is the only one who
will do.
These are the questions that our intelligent search
will want to know:
Why do you want to know about [subject matter] ?
1. Academic interest 2. Practical application 3. Theoretical application 4. Market research application
In what context are you seeking to know?
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
As we become more accustomed to the idea that
we are now living in the age of ideas (for all
that everyone rants that the last thing they need is "one
more good idea") we will get much better at organizing the
information we have access to and interface with.
In the meantime, it's a brave new world for
internet newbies in 2007.
It is not the world I stumbled upon in 1993...
When computers spoke to each other in languages,
and screens of DOS text and dial up interfaces
gained you access to universities, bulletin
boards and local computer networks.
until then
we'll have adsense
and everything
in between
we didn't know
what we had
or what we didn't have
before the white noise.
In the modern western world and more and more
parts of the less modern global community, it
is perfectly possible to educate oneself, for instance,
in the field of chemistry... Or astronomy... Music,
the arts or literature...
Or, even... Quantum physics, or the theories of new thought...
Any of these disciplines and hundreds, or perhaps thousands
more...
are all available for us to choose. To learn and become knowledgeable about.
How could any one of us fail to find something. Something.
Of interest. Worthy of pursuit.
One hundred years ago, our lives were so vastly more restricted
In terms of time. In terms of access to information. In terms of
sheer man hours required for basic living requirements.
Yet most of us remain.
Stuck in the era of another age.
Grappling with questions far more relevant to the
generations which came before us than to ourselves.
Unable to understand, transcend, or become
the next possibility
Instead we become
the latest statistic.
The intelligent age is far more than upon us.
Our children and grandchildren are born in and of it
knowing it
living it
We can choose
To become lost
in the sea of noise
Or to stitch our perfect thread
through the eye of the needle
into what pleases, amazes and delights us
and entertains the world
as well.
Do not look for what great problem needs solving
They come of their own accord.
rather, look for what dream needs investigating?
What stirring of curiosity, intent and joy
calls me forward. Right now. Today.
The evolution of our own world in our lifetimes
is evidence enough
Our ability to identify and find what we seek
is directly corollary to our ability to intelligently search.
The one thing that is a requirement of an infrastructure
based on knowledge and information is
a damn good librarian.
In fact, a reference librarian is the only one who
will do.
These are the questions that our intelligent search
will want to know:
Why do you want to know about [subject matter] ?
1. Academic interest 2. Practical application 3. Theoretical application 4. Market research application
In what context are you seeking to know?
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
As we become more accustomed to the idea that
we are now living in the age of ideas (for all
that everyone rants that the last thing they need is "one
more good idea") we will get much better at organizing the
information we have access to and interface with.
In the meantime, it's a brave new world for
internet newbies in 2007.
It is not the world I stumbled upon in 1993...
When computers spoke to each other in languages,
and screens of DOS text and dial up interfaces
gained you access to universities, bulletin
boards and local computer networks.
until then
we'll have adsense
and everything
in between
we didn't know
what we had
or what we didn't have
before the white noise.
posted by becky burke mundt at 12:12 AM
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