ChrisShaul.com

Beyond the Information Revolution

We (the bigger WE) have been through the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and now we are on the brink of exploring what is beyond the information revolution. The Information Revolution really began with the advent of the Internet. The immediate access to any possible information you could want, right at your finger tips. The rise of wireless communication. Cities implementing wireless in the downtown areas to foster business and open exchange. The aspect of broadband connections in every household. In South Korea, people download soap operas and other TV shows. The Internet is now becoming a mass media delivery tool. This new information revolution is leading to an even newer set of both problems and new ways of thinking.

Imagine all the benefits that we are gaining from this instant access to information. But what about some of the downsides? People without computers or access to this new media are falling behind. There is a rise in problems associated with access to any information or media you want instantly. My particular problem is an eleven year old who is now hooked on playing rpg (role playing games) and he is meeting a new social group. This group is unmonitored and unknown. What is to prevent him from coming across things that are beyond his middle school years (porn, death and destruction, hateful philosophies…) ? How do we deal with this and other things. A few more from an interesting article entitledTransendental Destination from the Rand Corporation.

* the continuing rise of electronic commerce and the elimination of myriad “middlemen,” creating greater efficiencies but also greater possibilities for social exclusion

* a growing fraction of economic activity performed by “information workers”

* flatter, less-hierarchical business organizations that place a higher value on social networks and informal communications

* challenges to the power and authority of the nation-state as a result of many factors, including the increasing porosity of national borders and the simultaneous assemblage of a wide variety of interest groups that operate largely beyond the control of individual nations

* new fault lines within and between nations, by virtue of the widening gulfs between the educated, wealthy, and “wired” of all nations and the less fortunate of all nations

* many new winners and many new losers among individuals, groups, nations, and regions.

And so what happens after we have mastered information?

Perhaps we turn inward. According to Chinese Feng Shui in 2024, we will be entering a time of a new enlightenment (also a time with new dangers). But will we become so blase about information that we will begin to further explore our own minds? Will this lead to a new understanding of self? Will people by understanding themselves, be able to make personal improvements and thus change the world? I certainly hope so!