This is rapidly becoming my favorite subject - I’m fascinated by the way our brains are being changed by technology.
David Weinberger writes in his thought provoking book Everything is Miscellaneous about the ways that virtuality is changing how we organize information. We’re moving from physical heuristics to systems of self-organization - this is how Ithink about the world, so therefore, that is how it is organized for me.
Whereas physical layouts (think retail stores) limit the number of connections products can have (e.g., a product should be shelved in one or two places in the store tops, in order to maximize return on limited square footage), in the virtual world, anything and everything can be linked. As the brilliant Kati Sciortino says, it’s all about the meta.
And information is now accessible, easily and cheaply. Look ups are at our finger tips. Perhaps we can finally move from educational systems of rote learning - memorization - to schools that teach us how to think.
The implications on us - as marketers, parents, educators, thinkers, citizens - are monumental. And we’re just beginning to think about what they will be.
Everything is Miscellaneous is a really intriguing read. I highly recommend it. (And thank you to J. Duncan Berry of Applied Iconology for recommending it to me!)
