About Quote by James Gleick
“Alphabetical order had to be invented to help people organize the first dictionaries. On the other hand, we may have reached a point where alphabetical order has gone obsolete. Wikipedia is ostensibly in alphabetical order, but, when you think about it, it's not in any order at all. You use a search engine to get into it.”
About This Quote
An observation that traditional organizational tools like alphabetical order are losing relevance in the digital age where search supersedes linear browsing.
In simple terms: Search eclipses alphabetical sorting
Key Takeaway
Technology reshapes information access
Themes
technology
information
organization
digital shift
cognition
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
curious
Type
essay
observation
When to use this quote
- library science
- digital archiving
- online research
Key Concepts
alphabetical order
search engines
Practical Applications
- UX design
- information architecture
Questions to Reflect On
- What new ordering principles might replace alphabetic lists?
- How does search change our mental models of knowledge?
![“The middle ages did not care much for alphabetical order, because they were committed to rational order. To the medieval mind, the universe [is] a harmonious whole whose parts are related to one another. It was the responsibility of the author or scholar to discern these rational relationships…” quote by Matthew Battles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/da2/matthew-battles-50730_alphabetical-order_the-middle-ages-did-not-care-much-for-al_2819215.jpg)
![“She said she thought it [ letter "C"] meant alphabetical order. But nobody bothered to ask did she ever see an "A," a "B," a "D," or an "E." If I were cross-examining her I darn well would have asked her that question.” quote by Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6ba/rudy-giuliani-958_alphabetical-order_she-said-she-thought-it-letter-c-meant-a_256988.jpg)
