Computers Quote by Neil Postman
““From millions of sources all over the globe, through every possible channel and medium—light waves, airwaves, ticker tapes, computer banks, telephone wires, television cables, satellites, printing presses—information pours in. Behind it, in every imaginable form of storage—on paper, on video and audio tape, on discs, film, and silicon chips—is an ever greater volume of information waiting to be retrieved. Like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, we are awash in information. And all the sorcerer has left us is a broom. Information has become a form of garbage, not only incapable of answering the most fundamental human questions but barely useful in providing coherent direction to the solution of even mundane problems. To say it still another way: The milieu in which Technopoly flourishes is one in which the tie between information and human purpose has been severed, i.e., information appears indiscriminately, directed at no one in particular, in enormous volume and at high speeds, and disconnected from theory, meaning, or purpose.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, 1992
The overload of information, disconnected from meaning, turns data into noise, making it hard to find purpose or direction in modern society.
In simple terms: Too much data without meaning becomes useless.
Seek meaning, not just data.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- policy making
- education curriculum design
- personal media consumption
- research methodology
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What purpose does the information you consume serve?
- How can we restore meaning to data?
Information alone cannot solve human problems without context.