Prime Time Replay:
David Shenk
on Coping with Information Glut
MsgId: *brain_storm(6)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:02:16 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Brainstorms. I'm your host, Rob Killheffer, Senior Editor and Producer of OMNI. My guest tonight is David Shenk, author of a new book called DATA SMOG, about something everyone here should be familiar with: information overload. David's book is all the more interesting because it not only asks the too-often-ignored question, "Is more information necessarily a good thing?", it also offers practical suggestions for dealing with the information glut, sparing yourself the evils of information without losing the good. Welcome, David!
MsgId: *brain_storm(7)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:03:58 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.108
Thanks, Rob. Glad to be here. Hello to all the info gluttons out there.
MsgId: *brain_storm(8)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:05:15 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
To begin, David, perhaps you can offer a nutshell description of information overload -- is it just electronic info, or more? does everyone face it? is it just the un-asked for items like junk mail and telemarketing calls, or is requested information as dangerous a pollutant?
MsgId: *brain_storm(9)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:06:32 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.108
To really begin, let me say that the information revolution is a wonderful thing in almost every way. The problem is, as with the industrial revolution, there are a few nasty side effects.Now, to answer your question: Data Smog is not only the stuff we know we don't want - junk mail, junk faxes, junk email, ads creeping into every nook and cranny of our lives, etc. - but also the info we crave - the seductive, thrilling fast-paced information from TV, the Net, cell phones, beepers, and so on. We are bathing in information, and while this is often a very good thing, there is the danger of drowning in it.
MsgId: *brain_storm(14)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:15:09 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
In your book you list a variety of psychological (and even physical) effects that information overload can have on us -- from increased stress and attention deficit disorder to simple confusion, memory problems, and "decreased benevolence." Along the way you made tantalizing reference to the studies that have revealed the connections, but I was wondering if you might elaborate on them a little. How do we know that these maladies are a result of information glut? Are we just making an obvious, common-sense connection, or is there solid science to back it up?
MsgId: *brain_storm(15)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:18:42 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.108
The science on info overload is very spare. We don't know very much for certain. What I did in the book is gather all the studies over the past several decades on stimulus and information overload. There is solid evidence that it can cause stress (which can lead to many other maladies, as we know); that it can cause overconfidence; also that it can make us less helpful and more distracted. There are also clearly issues with memory trouble.
MsgId: *brain_storm(16)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:21:23 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
I can't help noting -- as you did in your book -- the irony of the situation: you're writing a book about info overload, thus adding to it; we're here talking about that book, adding to it more. You and I both work in the information industry. What can we do to help relieve the situation? After all, we earn our bread by generating new (or at least restructured) information ...
MsgId: *brain_storm(17)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:24:51 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.108
First -- there's nothing inherently wrong with publishing or broadcasting information. Books, particularly, are an antidote to the glut because they are written slowly, edited severely and read deliberately and at slow speeds. But generally speaking, what we all need to do, now that any of us can be our own publisher, is be very strict about what we put out -- edit ourselves, hold our articulations to high standards, not spitting out more words than are necessary, and organizing our thoughts as best we can.
MsgId: *brain_storm(18)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:27:06 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
Quality over quantity -- maybe the information glut will provide the force to make the philosophy stick. In fact, as we started this chat, it struck me that this clunky software -- which so many guests, interviewers, and audience members have complained about -- is actually a pretty smog-free info system. It's slow, allowing plenty of time for reflection and thought-preparation; and it behooves the user to make each word count.
MsgId: *brain_storm(21)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:29:17 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.108
You're dead on, there. There is a paradox -- whatever slows us down, and whatever makes information cost just a little bit more, is now both a bad and a good thing. The slowness and cost are not welcome, but they do us a favor by forcing us to slow our thinking down and savor information more.
MsgId: *brain_storm(19)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:28:53 PDT 1997
From: guest At: 207.116.35.6
Hi Rob, -Palma
MsgId: *brain_storm(20)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:29:08 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
[Hi to my friend at Palma -- that's my drug store.]You point to technological utopianism as one of the dangerous attitudes people bring to the info revolution -- we need to recognize that these development can bring harm as well as good. Do you think it's strange that techn-utopianism has survived all the technologically-induced disasters of our century? Is it likely to abate any time soon?
MsgId: *brain_storm(28)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:38:50 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.108
I don't think it's at all strange that Americans are so optimistic about technology. Look at what tech has done for us: it has made us richer, healthier, wiser, given us more and better food, kept us cleaner -- I could go on and on. Of course, there have been unintended consequences all along. But now we're getting to the point where our entire culture is bathing in technology -- so its going to be both better and worse. I hope that we will awake from our techno-utopianism to realize that these innovations also have side effects.
MsgId: *brain_storm(29)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:40:51 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
[Hi to my friend at Palma -- that's my drug store.]Most people watching this are probably quite familiar with the feelings of inundation you describe so well in your book. What are some of the measures people can take to reduce their info glut without missing out on the good things all the info can bring?
MsgId: *brain_storm(30)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:41:39 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
[Ooops, didn't mean to resend that greeting. More smog. Sorry.]
MsgId: *brain_storm(31)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:43:25 PDT 1997
From: guest At: 207.116.35.6
Rob, oh come on now, you were making me feel special.tee hee.
MsgId: *brain_storm(32)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:46:39 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.108
Let me take your question head on: To be blunt about it, I don't think we can necessarily have it both ways. We can't enjoy all the great things and at the same time minimize the confusion, frustration, mania, impatience, etc. What we can do, alernatively, is to sort of cycle back and forth. Dive into the info stream, bathe in the info and communication. But remember to get out of the water and take a good long break every so often. Live a life off-line. Read books. Don't get all your news from instant-update sources; instead, read The New Yorker and other long-form journals. That's a short and very simplistic answer to your question, but I think it's part of how we can deal with this new exciting time.
MsgId: *brain_storm(33)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:47:12 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
From your mention of buying one of the first Macs back in 1984 while in college, I think we're about the same age. Like you, I was pretty jazzed on infotech throughout high school and into college. I even started out majoring in computer science, and I think that's where I first encountered my data glut. There's no question that human evolution is way outpaced by the info explosion, but to what extent do you think there is some adaptation with each new generation? I know I'm a lot better at processing all this info than my grandfather, and I suspect that a kid growing up now might be developing even more effective means of handling data.
MsgId: *brain_storm(35)
Date: Fri Apr 25 22:59:28 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.128
You're right - we are incredibly adaptive. But that's not evolution at all. It's important to realize that while, on the surface, we are keeping up with information flow, there's a part of us that is lagging way behind. That's crudely put, and I don't have all the answers here. But I think that just because we *can* keep up with MTV-style television doesn't mean that it's good for us. We can also live on Hershey bars for a good long time, but we know that our bodies ultimately wouldn't appreciate that. Your question may ultimately call for a spiritual answer. The speed really seems to rob us of our spirituality, our sense of meaning in life.
MsgId: *brain_storm(36)
Date: Fri Apr 25 23:00:56 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
David, we're just about out of time. I want to thank you for being my guest here for a very interesting chat. One final question: throughout your book you quote from many different sources -- the anonymous "K.", Steve Jobs, and others in the heart of the info revolution -- who express grave concerns over the possible unintended results of the glut. Do you think we're headed for the kind of crisis some of them suggest? Or will we find ways to relieve the pressure of such vast information and avoid the direst consequences?
MsgId: *brain_storm(37)
Date: Fri Apr 25 23:05:11 PDT 1997
From: David_Shenk At: 152.163.233.128
I hate to sidestep you, but I really don't know. I think some of the problems I discuss in the book are going to get a lot worse. But I also think that we're on the verge of a better realization of what machines do for us and to us, and I think that conversation will enable people to work towards a better balance in their lives.I'd like to thank you, Rob, for the opportunity to chat. And I'd like to invite everyone to check out some of the things people have said about my book, at two sites: www.datasmog.com, and at the "data smog" page at amazon.com.
MsgId: *brain_storm(38)
Date: Fri Apr 25 23:08:25 PDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 38.254.181.13
Thanks again, David. I'll second that recommendation with my own: I think Data Smog is a fascinating and important book. You'll find it for sale in our Omni bookstore, so if you're interested in what David Shenk has been talking about, go and get yourself a copy. Unplug the phone, turn off the TV, and spend a few hours receiving data at a more humane speed. On that note, that's it for this edition of Brainstorms. See you all next week. Goodnight!
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