--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the large part of the function of…" description: "\"I think the large part of the function of the Internet is it is archival. It's unreliable to the extent that word on the street is unreliable. It's no ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/william-gibson-642_function_i-think-the-large-part-of-the-function-o_1124206.png" --- # I think the large part of the function of the Internet is… ![“I think the large part of the function of the Internet is it is archival. It's unreliable to the extent that word on the street is unreliable. It's no more unreliable than that. You can find the truth on the street if you work at it. I don't think of the Internet or the virtual as being inherently…” quote by William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/william-gibson-642_function_i-think-the-large-part-of-the-function-o_1124206.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/william-gibson-642_function_i-think-the-large-part-of-the-function-o_1124206.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/william-gibson-642_function_i-think-the-large-part-of-the-function-o_1124206.png) > “I think the large part of the function of the Internet is it is archival. It's unreliable to the extent that word on the street is unreliable. It's no more unreliable than that. You can find the truth on the street if you work at it. I don't think of the Internet or the virtual as being inherently inferior to the so-called real.” [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Internet serves as a modern archive, but its reliability depends on critical engagement with information. **In simple terms:** The Internet is an archive that needs careful checking. Key Takeaway Question sources, verify facts. Themes information archival digital culture truth verification Mood skeptical curious reflective Type analytical observational When to use this quote - research projects - news consumption - academic work - social media use Key Concepts archival function reliability digital truth critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify online information? - What role does community play in shaping digital truth? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on digital archives can lead to echo chambers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“The Internet is not a virtual world inhabited by avatars. It is a means of communication that offers people in the physical world a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wael-ghonim/the-internet-is-not-a-virtual-world-inhabited-by-avatars-it-is-a/) [Wael Ghonim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wael-ghonim/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The Internet and virtual reality make it easier for people to stay rooted in their communities and work for companies headquartered elsewhere. The Internet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/the-internet-and-virtual-reality-make-it-easier-for-people-to-stay/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [Unfortunately I think the Internet knows more about me than I do. I usually look it up to see what I'm going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-pastrana/unfortunately-i-think-the-internet-knows-more-about-me-than-i-do-i/) [Travis Pastrana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-pastrana/) > [I think that the internet is a beast of burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/i-think-that-the-internet-is-a-beast-of-burden/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) > [Kids today know way more than you think they do, with the Internet and 500 TV channels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-carrington/kids-today-know-way-more-than-you-think-they-do-with-the-internet-and/) [Rodney Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-carrington/) > [I think that the Internet is our most profound and beautiful achievement. It is magnificent. We have the Internet as a layer of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-that-the-internet-is-our-most-profound-and-beautiful/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I think the Internet is right on time. I think it's very important. It's reaching out to millions of people. Even the most slimiest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-40/i-think-the-internet-is-right-on-time-i-think-it-s-very-important-it/) E-40 > [I think that the Internet is going to be one of the major forces for reducing the role of government. The one thing that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/i-think-that-the-internet-is-going-to-be-one-of-the-major-forces-for/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [The Internet is just a bunch of servers and broadband cables and routers that traffic data around the world. But I think now the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ostrow/the-internet-is-just-a-bunch-of-servers-and-broadband-cables-and/) [Adam Ostrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ostrow/) > [I think that the Internet is really cool because a lot of young feminists don't feel like they have to reinvent the wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/i-think-that-the-internet-is-really-cool-because-a-lot-of-young/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [I think the Internet has given rise to voices that want to attack others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-zucker/i-think-the-internet-has-given-rise-to-voices-that-want-to-attack/) [Jeff Zucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-zucker/) > [I think the Internet has real potential for building community. People all around the world talking to each other can't be a bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-brown/i-think-the-internet-has-real-potential-for-building-community-people/) [Greg Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-brown/) > [I think the Internet is the greatest invention since women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/i-think-the-internet-is-the-greatest-invention-since-women/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) ## More by William Gibson > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“No," said Blackwell, "she won't, because that would be a violation of the very personal terms I will have established in our conversation. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/no-said-blackwell-she-won-t-because-that-would-be-a-violation-of-the/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Music was strange that way though; there were people into any damned thing, it seemed like, and if you got enough of them together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/music-was-strange-that-way-though-there-were-people-into-any-damned/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Hollis thought he looked like William Burroughs, minus the bohemian substrate (or perhaps the methadone). 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The story actually generates in the course of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-don-t-generate-a-storyline-and-then-fill-it-out-in-the-course-of/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“What happened to your arm?" she asked me one night in the Gentleman Loser, the three of us drinking at a small table in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/what-happened-to-your-arm-she-asked-me-one-night-in-the-gentleman/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“In Heathrow a vast chunk of memory detached itself from a blank bowl of airport sky and fell on him. He vomited into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/in-heathrow-a-vast-chunk-of-memory-detached-itself-from-a-blank-bowl/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/and-for-an-instant-she-stared-directly-into-those-soft-blue-eyes-and/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [ \[When\] Johnny Mnemonic was coming out and I realized that all the kids that worked in 7-11 knew more - or thought they knew… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-johnny-mnemonic-was-coming-out-and-i-realized-that-all-the-kids/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Andrea maintained that men like Alain lied so constantly, so passionately, that some basic distinction had been lost. They were artists in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/andrea-maintained-that-men-like-alain-lied-so-constantly-so/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Because he had a good agent, he had a good contract. Because he had a good contract, he was in Singapore an hour after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/because-he-had-a-good-agent-he-had-a-good-contract-because-he-had-a/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) [Explore all 430 William Gibson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) ## More Function quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/) [Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. 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