Moderating Our Informational Desires

A summary of:
Schultze, Q. J. (2002). Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously inward the Information Age. Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
Chapter ii - Moderating Our Informational Desires

Schultze argues inward this chapter that alongside regard to our informational wants, nosotros exercise "pleonexia: a deep-seated wish for something to the indicate of greed" (49). It's psychotic, as well as it's pain us mentally, equally good equally morally. "Mired inward pleonexic intemperance, nosotros tend to wish greater information without considering the virtue betwixt excess as well as deficiency" (67). Schulze argues that "We demand to acquire how to moderate the transient traffic of bits as well as bytes so that nosotros are able to hear to the nontechnological voices of virtue" (68). While I come across where he's coming from, I think that disengagement does non solve the problem; as well as nosotros demand to consider how nosotros tin inward fact pattern technologies so that they choke voices of virtue themselves, i.e. they embody to a greater extent than spiritual, human, values.

One employment of this greed is that it leads to unchecked production of information, which inward plough leads to a province of affairs where nosotros experience information overload. Schultze refers to Borges' brusk story, "The Library of Babel," where the characters are swimming inward information but are inward a dry soil of "literary as well as psychic disarray" (49). There is a corking volume of information, but no synthesis of it, as well as much of it is irreconcilable." The message for us is: "Unless nosotros acquire moderation, our lives volition move a mishmash of messages as well as information that is ever to a greater extent than tenuously connected to concrete obligations, cultures, as well as traditions" (48). Microsoft Research notes inward its 2008 Being Human, that cyberspace has democratized information production: "We are all fast becoming content producers, publishers as well as developers equally much equally nosotros are consumers.... As nosotros approach 2020, nosotros are entering an era where nosotros are much to a greater extent than hands-on alongside our digital materials, where the populace of software is no longer nether strict command of developers as well as engineers, as well as where nosotros tin create a to a greater extent than customised, personalised digital populace for ourselves” (23). This seems similar a corking win for democracy. But consider that until recently, nosotros did non value information production equally much equally nosotros did the acquisition of knowledge: "People spent to a greater extent than fourth dimension remembering the past times - inward ritual, song, as well as flush - than they did trying to create novel information" (50). What nosotros are losing inward our mania to arrive at is an appreciation of what has already been produced; as well as it fuels the ego, which inward plough weakens our commitment to the community.

We take away maintain to wonder, then, what Metcalf's Law agency inward its declaration that "the 'value' of the Internet increases at the charge per unit of measurement of the foursquare of the number of people using it" (51). Surely this is partially if non generally or fifty-fifty exclusively because of the information that these users produce. I think nosotros take away maintain confused ourselves over again inward price of value. This is because information has acquired economical value (think of the Knowledge Economy, which refers to a greater extent than to information - information - than noesis - wisdom). More is better. Quantity over quality.

Schultze mentions a snarky petty website "Recognizing our status equally tired Web surfers alongside petty direction" (54), which greets people alongside the following:
We demand moderation just so that nosotros tin move productive inward human (rather than technological) terms: "Setting reasonable technological limits enables us to dedicate fourth dimension as well as loose energy to noninstrumental pursuits that are crucial for living a skilful life" (56). And, "If to a greater extent than as well as to a greater extent than of our fourth dimension is dedicated to exchanging voluminous amounts of information alongside impersonal databases, nosotros volition move less probable to commune responsibly alongside people inward our ain domiciles as well as neighborhoods" (66).

Quantity inward the Internet instantly raises issues of speed, i.e. bandwidth. According to Moore's Law, "'computer power' doubles every xviii months" (51)... but should it? Do nosotros demand this? Actually, the way nosotros are consuming correct now, nosotros demand this continuous doubling. But doesn't this signal addiction? Microsoft Research write, "Having access to electronic mail as well as the Web is becoming to a greater extent than commonplace on all phones, as well as this may increment the spread of the ‘disease’ of communications addiction. But equally alongside whatever other addiction, in that location are ways of dealing alongside the habit. People increasingly do non experience obliged to respond electronic mail on the same day, citing electronic mail overload or past times beingness to a greater extent than explicit almost beingness out of touch. There are besides numerous self-help books on what it agency as well as how to attain ‘turning off’. Filtering using social metadata is some other possibility for people to usage to care their communication as well as availability better" (24).

And also, how tin a model similar this (Moore's Law, that is) move sustainable? Microsoft Research wrote inward 2008 inward Being Human that nosotros are casually wasting a huge amount of digital space, assuming that it is infinite as well as free. It is infinite only to the extent that nosotros are willing to pay for the infrastructure needed to back upwards as well as care this information (and presumably to the extent that the populace is able to furnish the resources needed to arrive at the hardware). The irony is that spell an awareness of a demand to cheque our digital footprint reintroduces the notion of scarcity into the equation; as well as scarcity leads to greater economical value. When nosotros start out to approach the ceiling, in that location volition move an fifty-fifty greater urge for people to colonize the remaining space. On the other hand: "Scarcity, non abundance, unremarkably denotes value as well as leads us to move to a greater extent than thoughtful almost our usage of resources. If nosotros take away maintain to invest our express fourth dimension as well as loose energy into an activity, nosotros are to a greater extent than probable to move committed to it" (58).

Schultze asks whether this information is making us amend or wiser. I think nosotros all know the answer: No. Firstly, it is making it hard to compose our thoughts. Havel wrote that beingness express to only a few pages retrained his thinking: "In fourth dimension I leanred how to think ahead as well as adapt my thoughts inward thematic cycles, as well as to weave the motifs inward as well as out of them as well as thus - to build, over time, my ain petty structure, putting it together something similar my plays" (60). Self-imposed limits tin only move conducive to amend thinking. But equally nosotros engage to a greater extent than as well as to a greater extent than alongside technologies, nosotros are start to think to a greater extent than as well as to a greater extent than similar them, as well as equally a number nosotros are becoming to a greater extent than as well as to a greater extent than scattered. "Stephen L. Talbott warns that the database is a metaphor for the 'scattered hear - the hear that feverishly gathers trinkets hither as well as there, convinced that, somehow, a big plenty pile of such notions volition magically coalesce into ane of those novel paradigms said to move taking shape all around us'" (56). Clearly, undeniably, this is the usage of my blog. To amass informational trinkets inward training for writing a grand PhD thesis. I come across no other way of managing the corking volume of information I am expected to assimilate inward monastic say to satisfy the criteria of academic rigor equally good equally the criteria of my interdisciplinary PhD program. I'm certain I'll aspect similar the guy higher upwards inward a few months.

Secondly, our twenty-four threescore minutes menses of the month alongside the Internet is making us dumber. It's destroying our memories. Yes, our memories take away maintain e'er been fallible; but inward designing technologies that scream back things for us, nosotros are less as well as less able to do our ain remembering. The retention musculus is wasting away. (Again, thence the demand to manically weblog equally I choke so that I don't forget what I was thinking, or lose the poignant quote, sky forfend!) Microsoft Research write that blogging etc. is seen equally a way of augmenting human memory, providing novel ways of recording as well as searching memories; but this novel form of retention may surpass augmentation as well as fifty-fifty supersede our biological memories (72). The authors ask: "But only what benefits volition these efforts convey us? Will these technologies actually assist us to know ourselves better, brand our lives richer, strengthen our connections to those nosotros tending almost as well as convey us closer to the populace around us" (72)? They propose that HCI needs to consider just which "aspects of retention volition brand our lives richer", which situations nosotros wish to scream back as well as why, as well as whether inward some cases it is "better as well as to a greater extent than desirable to forget" (72).

Scultze argues that in that location are several problems alongside increased bandwidth. One is that it "devalues human communication because of the ease of making as well as distributing digital copies" (58). This comes from Walter Benjamin's declaration inward The Work of Art inward the Age of Mechanical Reproduction that "the powerfulness to mechanically reproduce cultural artifacts tends to homecoming the originals less meaningful - less similar special icons as well as to a greater extent than similar everyday artifacts" (58). Also, "increased bandwidth farther fragments monastic say past times expanding specialized messaging at the expense of shared culture" (59). Balkan's Law states that "'like interests' coalesce online" (59) - which is a dissimilar way of describing what Carr refers to equally the corking unbundling of the meshwork that leads to polarity of thought.

Schultze makes the indicate that nosotros pick out a really laissez-faire mental attitude toward technological production because nosotros tacitly pick out the stance that the marketplace volition classify it all out for us. "In other words, nosotros do non take away maintain to occupation ourselves alongside the habits of our hearts, because the marketplace is a sufficiently moral arbiter of information as well as progress" (52). I think what nosotros desperately demand is to interruption for reflection earlier developing technology. The employment volition move getting anyone to plough off as well as to focus long enough, equally good equally to scream back how to move reflective, so that nosotros tin address these issues, specially equally nosotros are becoming less as well as less familiar alongside the pursuit of creating "shared understanding" (62).

I wonder if ane of the things nosotros powerfulness wish to consider is using the powerfulness of applied scientific discipline to line the evolution of ideas as well as concepts. The fact is, nosotros are to a greater extent than probable to plough to Wikipedia for answers than choke dorsum to the source... specially because nosotros hardly know where the orignial source powerfulness be. We oftentimes quote people who are themselves quoting other people's quotes of other people's quotes! This is a timesaver inward the way that buying a Best Of CD is the way to acquire the best value for coin without having to pay for crappy music tracks. But I think it would move interesting if nosotros could add together some other dimension to each information indicate (or amend yet, each concept or idea), which is the continuity of that stance through time.

Schultze argues that "technological linguistic communication takes on a moral weight it hardly deserves. We equate informational abundance alongside goodness as well as progress, equally if all information as well as all uses of information technologies are worthwhile" (56). I empathise alongside T.S. Elliot's lamentation: "Where is the wisdom nosotros take away maintain lost inward knowledge? Where is the noesis nosotros take away maintain lost inward information" (56-7)? It is worth considering why it is that monks were only allowed to read ane volume a twelvemonth (59-60). How deeply you lot tin think almost that book! Wow - to take away maintain the infinite to think that deeply would move genuinely precious. The closest I tin come upwards without joining a monastery is to do a PhD.