[quote]Indirect and abstract by its very nature, the telephone now seemed to be the positive symbol of my own situation: a means of communication which prevented mefrom communicating; an instrument of inspection which permitted of no precise information; an automatic machine, extremely easy to use, which nevertheless showed itself to be almost always capricious and untrustworthy.”[/quote]
—Alberto Moravia, Boredom (1960)
i enjoy your writing, and appreciate your research. but you speak as though this is something new (in reference to the information). certainly the way in which we transmit ideas has outshined the ideas themselves, but the premise never changed. gathering and hoarding of information as a means of social regulation existed long before humanity’s arrival. the fact that we have codified and articulated the importance of knowing what is where and who is doing what is not novel, it is the basis of evolution. that we can do it faster, more succinctly, and at greater distances, doesnt change the foundation.