Too Much Information?
The "pervasive, invasive information infrastructure...is as much a part of our lives as religion was for medieval surfs" (Tetzeli 1994, p. 60). But is it too much? We've all seen the mind-numbing statistics about the exponential growth of information and of technological means of distributing and accessing it. However, some people question whether the problem really is one of overload. One source of the problem is actually the multiplicity of communication channels. Unlike earlier eras, such as when printing presses replaced manuscript copying, new technologies are not replacing older ones but are adding to the host of media choices (Davidson 1996). With these multiple channels the information flow is now simultaneous and multidirectional. However, most traditional information management practices are too linear and specific: they were pipes developed for a stream, not an ocean (Alesandrini 1992). The sheer quantity of information and the speed with which it can be acquired give an illusion of accomplishment (Uline 1996).
But what good is all this information if it is not usable? "Almost all our resources are dedicated to gathering the raw material--information--and almost nothing is spent on the most important job of transforming information into intelligence" (Milton 1989, p. 6). Milton suggests that it is possible to have "negative information"--that which causes the recipient to know less than before because it is not integrated, applied, and transformed into knowledge. Essential to information mastery is understanding the relationship between data, information, and knowledge (TAFE-TEQ 1992): data are raw facts and figures, information is data organized into a meaningful context, and knowledge is organized data (i.e., information) that has been understood and applied.
Perhaps it is not too much "information," but an explosion of "noninformation" (Wurman 1989) lacking relevance, quality, and usefulness. What is needed is better judgment of the quality, accuracy, and reliability of what is received(Kinnaman 1994). According to John Seeley Brown, people may perceive overload because the information they receive does not fit into current mental models for understanding the world (Tetzeli 1994). The problem of information overload thus has both technological and human aspects. The solution is also two pronged: both technological--create better technological tools and make better use of them--and human--revise mental models and sharpen the capacity for critical reflection and analysis.
I've Got to Keep Up!
Many people believe they have to try to stay on top of information because of economic, social, and employment-related pressures.
This era’s technology opened numerous doors for new types of communication and ways to retrieve an abundance of information. The Internet is clearly one of the greatest inventions of all time, allowing people to communicate across the globe and accumulate countless information in a matter of seconds. This phenomenon undoubtedly marked a significant progress in our society. However, it also gave rise to qu...
Louis XIV was made for a brilliant Court and was the center figure of the Court group. From this time, intellect, education, the nobility of sentiment, and high principle, in others, became objects of suspicion to him, and soon of hatred. His jealousy on this point unceasingly became a weakness. He reigned, indeed, in little things; the great he could never reach: even in the former, too, he was often governed. He liked to form them, as he said; liked to teach them even the most trifling things. It was the same with his generals. He took credit for himself for instructing them; wished it to be thought that from his
Louis XIV is considered the “perfect absolutist” and he has been said to have been one of the greatest rulers in France’s history. He came up with several different strategic plans to gain absolute
After entering the modern society, people living in a high information environment, a salient feature of it is that peopl...
—. How to read the Bible for all its worth. 3rd Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003.
The Harry Potter series shows some similarities to Christianity in how a young orphan child defeats the odds and save the world. Of course it is not like the bible, but it has imagery of folk tales and examples of how magic can relate to religion
In 2008, Americans consumed information for about 1.3 trillion hours, an average of almost 12 hours per day. Consumption totaled 3.6 zettabytes and 10,845 trillion words, corresponding to 100,500 words and 34 gi...
Nowadays, information can be easily obtainable from several different sources: newspapers, magazines, and all the multiple sites made available on the internet. With it being so accessible, it is not much of an achievement to learn something that one may not have known before. Kreider’s In Praise of Not Knowing effectively demonstrates this point.
Orgenozetouns elsu feol biceasi thiy eri fregoli end eri medi ap uf hamens whu hevi imutouns (JJCOB1964, 2012). Piupli on urgenozetouns eri timptid tu sebutegi thi urgenozetoun dai tu thior igu, silf-ontirist end thi oncintovi uf bicumong hoghir on thi urgenozetoun’s hoirerchy (JJCOB1964, 2012). Farthirmuri, piupli on thisi urgenozetouns cen crieti smell gruaps wothon thi urgenozetoun thet cen distruy thi urgenozetoun (JJCOB1964, 2012). Accurdong tu O’Here urgenozetouns mast bi qaock tu stup invorunmintel chellingis (JJCOB1964, 2012). Only e fiw urgenozetouns cen kiip ap woth thisi chellingis end thet os enuthir riesun why urgenozetouns feol (JJCOB1964, 2012).
In Is Google Making Us Stupid, Nicholas Carr disputes that due to new digital tools, peoples’ ability to retain and acquire information has been negatively altered. Even though, we have information at our fingertips, we often don’t take the time to soak in all the information. Carr mentions Bruce Friedman, a blogger, who finds it extremely difficult to read a “longish article on the web” and to try to focus on the importance of the text holistically (Carr 316). This is an issue that many can relate even Carr knows that, “ the deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle (Carr 314). Additionally, media theorist Mcluhan describes the net as “chipping away [mental] capacity for concentration and contemplation” (Carr 315). In essences, Carr states that we are having less of an attention span and consequently, less patience for longer articles (Carr 314). Therefore, this affects media outlets such as magazines, newspapers, and other articles, because they must conform and shorten their texts to fit the status quo that people safely enjoy (Carr 321). In addition, the net forces people to be efficient, and so, causes people to “weaken [their] capacity for deep reading” (Carr 317). People are becoming more driven on how quick he or she has to do something rather than think why this text is important. As a consequence, Carr believes that we are starting to lose our ability to be critical readers and
In 1542 a boy was born to an opium addicted father that had lost almost everything he had inherited from his father. The one thing he kept was his name, the eldest son of Barbar, Humayan. Barbar had conquered northern India establishing the Mughal Empire for Islam. Humayan was able to regain control of a small portion of the empire his father built, and that would be all Akbar would need to become one of the greatest rulers India had ever seen. Akbar as a child was a handful. His parents went through tutor after tutor trying to prepare him to be a ruler with little or no success. He refused to learn to read or write, and would remain illiterate until his death in 1605. Akbar was thirteen when his father tripped down a flight of stairs suffering a blow to the head, and passed three days later. Akbar the illiterate was now the ruler of this fledgling empire. This would not hamper the young emperor because he was blessed with an extraordinary memory, and was brilliant.
...ies of the nursing care was provided by drunkards and former convicts. What was also reported was that their city’s courts were giving the prostitutes of going to prison or going into hospital service. Long before social reforms and some physicians in the United States espoused the idea that provisions of safe nursing care was important and best delivered by persons who received a formal education in nursing. At the end of the 19th century wealthy philanthropists, nurses provided care to the sick poor patients in their homes and provided them with food and medical supplies. In 1919 a Committee for the study of Nursing Education was established to examine the state of both public health and nursing education. The committee’s published report that nurse educators receive the advanced education that is required for them. No one cared to make all the changes just some.
The Internet’s influence on our lives has spread throughout. According a 2009 US Census survey 74% of Americans use the internet and have access within their household.A number that has increased every year since 1990 and will sure grow in the future. In this survey they relieved that they did various activities on the internet including social media, (Facebook and Twitter) researching and reading news articles, watching YouTube videos, shopping and so much more all can be done with a computer or Internet enabled phone. With this ease of use and convenience it casts a shadow upon the future of printed and broadcast information. The Web’s instant and vast knowledge bank has changed ...
Daniel Bell (1973) coined the expression ‘the post-industrial society’. In this society a substantial proportion of the population are employed or involved in the work of information collection and communication. In this sense we can see that information has become a commodity which can have a value and is therefore marketable. It also can be seen as an indispensable component of our social fabric.
Today, our society has access to mankind’s collective knowledge with the internet. Constantly updated, the internet keeps everyone in the loop. If there is a traffic jam, Google Maps will notify you. If there is a new movie release, Fandango will ask to reserve tickets for you. If there is a limited-time sale, Amazon will email you. Information constantly bombards us. The internet moves fast, and we must try to keep up to stay in