"Science has provided the swiftest communication between individuals; it has provided a record of ideas and has enabled man to manipulate and to make extracts from that record so that knowledge evolves and endures throughout the life of a race rather than that of an individual." - Vannevar Bush
Upon reading the article by Mr. Bush I felt this one statement wrapped up so much about communication in the digital age. One of the greatest things I have seen with the growth of digital communications is the further availability and spread of knowledge. Archives that had once only been able to be used if you visited a university or museum are now being converted to digital. People can remain in the comfort of their own homes and soak up this new vast array of knowledge. Information that has long been hidden is now brought back out into the open and being shared to a greater audience.
With this greater access also comes the overload of information. How do we process it all? How do we decide what we should actually absorb and which should be ignored? Even to this day for me many times this can be overwhelming. What I think needs to be done is generate reminders for ourselves that helps us to have access to the information. Perfect example of this is the ability to "bookmark" internet pages for later use. You don't have to absorb all the information on those pages but you at least have the reminders of where it is and can tap into it at will.
I think as time marches on we will continue to condition ourselves to better organize and access all the information that we feel is relevant for each one of us. We will hopefully begin to learn how and when to shut off the ever increasing flow of mental stimulation to avoid overload. Time will tel if we adapt or allow ourselves to become controled by the over abundance of information.
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