Cult of Information: A Neo-Luddite Treatise on High-Tech, Artificial Intelligence, and the True Art of Thinking - Softcover

Roszak, Theodore

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520085841 ISBN 13: 9780520085848

Publisher: University of California Press, 1994

Synopsis

As we devote ever-increasing resources to providing, or prohibiting, access to information via computer, Theodore Roszak reminds us that voluminous information does not necessarily lead to sound thinking. "Data glut" obscures basic questions of justice and purpose and may even hinder rather than enhance our productivity.

In this revised and updated edition of The Cult of Information, Roszak reviews the disruptive role the computer has come to play in international finance and the way in which "edutainment" software and computer games degrade the literacy of children. At the same time, he finds hopeful new ways in which the library and free citizens' access to the Internet and the national data-highway can turn computer technology into a democratic and liberating force. Roszak's examination of the place of computer technology in our culture is essential reading for all those who use computers, who are intimidated by computers, or who are concerned with the appropriate role of computers in the education of our children.

About this title

Review:

The title notwithstanding, Theodore Roszak is no computer hater. But in an age that idolizes intelligent machines, he stands out as a rare cautionary voice. His book makes an eloquent case for a simple thesis: digital computing, far from being a panacea, has created as many problems as it solves. For Roszak, a fair measure of the fault lies with corporate hucksterism, a credulous educational establishment, and government's desire to control information. But the deeper worry is our own utopian techno-idealism--the belief that a scientific broom can sweep away our messy problems. The author challenges such computer messianism with a detailed, common-sense look at the history of what computing has actually brought us. The trends he sees--the conflation of data with knowledge, the erosion of human-centered values, and the rise of a digital oligarchy at just about everyone else's expense--are tough to deny. If you love computers, The Cult of Information is a provocative read, but one you shouldn't dodge.

From the Inside Flap:

"It is obvious that we can no longer proceed developing technologies with our eyes closed to its effects on our psychic habits, social relations and even political ideas. The best eye-opening book on the subject of the implications of a computerized culture is The Cult of Information. It is nothing short of a basic book for anyone interested in knowing about the ecology of technology."—Neil Postman, author of Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology

"This thoughtful, sensitive, and sane book heralds a coming new evaluation of the role of science and technology in the affairs of the human species."—Joseph Weizenbaum, Professor of Computer Science, MIT

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0520085841
• ISBN 13: 9780520085848
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 267