“if libraries did not exist, it would be necessary to invent them”
UK-based futurists Andrew Curry, Victoria Ward and Sabine Jaccaud have recently completed a study of the future of the library. Ward's company Spark Now has a description of
Are cell phones not handheld kill-bots in disguise after all?
Science writer Alice Walton argues that new research indicates that cellphones might not be the dangers we think. Brain tumors, car accidents, and virtual sex contact: Cell phones
Another data-point from the intersection of technology and religion
From Failblog: see more epicfails
Katie Roiphe gives up
Slate contributor Katie Roiphe has a piece about Freedom, the turn-off-the-Internet app. How many people made New Year’s resolutions to spend less time on the Internet? Yet another
Cherry-picking forecasts that support my own ideas
The title reflects a long-held practice, of course. This time I'm drawing on "12 Big Social Shifts for 2012," written by Mal Fletcher: De-Gadgetisation & the Neo-Frugals Related
Quote of the day: David Weinberger
I disagree with some elements of this interview, but this line of David Weinberger's makes a good point: In the sciences and humanities, it’s hard to find somebody
Internet as diversion: New Pew Internet study
A new Pew Internet survey reports that "any given day," 53% of all the young adults ages 18-29 go online for no particular reason except to have fun
Lose your mind and come to your senses
via flickr
Information Overload Day…
…was October 13, and somehow I missed it. Though of course for many people, every day is Information Overload Day.
On the double-edged sword of safety systems
The new report on the crash of Air France flight 447 concludes that pilot error was responsible for the crash-- or more accurately, that the pilot's mental model