The Atlantic asked me five hard questions, to which I responded at some length. It’s nice not to have to compress!
Andrew Keen had me on TechCrunch TV, which was generous of him. Thanks, Andrew.
[A few minutes later] The always-fresh CBC radio program, Spark, just posted a 26 minute interview with me. (Nora Young is a wonderful. There, I said it.)
Get a copy online or from your local bookstore
Excerpt and interview at The Atlantic.
Cory Doctorow's review at BoingBoing.net. Jeff Jarvis' review at BuzzMachine.
"Will this be one of the big books of 2012? Probably." — Tyler Cowen
"Too Big to Know is a stunning and profound book on how our concept of knowledge is changing in the age of the net. It honors the traditional social practices of knowing, where genres stay fixed, and provides a graceful way of understanding new strategies for knowing in today's rapidly evolving, networked world. I couldn't put this book down. It is a true tour du force written in a delightful way."
- John Seely Brown Co-author of The Social Life of Information (2000) and of a New Culture of Learning (2011); Visiting Scholar and Advisor to the Provost, USC; Former Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation and Director of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)
"With this insightful book, David Weinberger cements his status as one of the most important thinkers of the digital age. If you want to understand what it means to live in a world awash in information, Too Big to Know is the guide you've been looking for."
— Daniel H. Pink author of Drive and A Whole New Mind
"Too Big To Know is Weinberger's brilliant synthesis of myriad debates—information overload, echo chambers, the wisdom of crowds—into a single vision of life and work in an era of networked knowledge."— Clay Shirky author of Here Comes Everybody and Cognitive Surplus
"Led by the Internet, knowledge is now social, mobile, and open. Weinberger shows how to unlock the benefits."
— Marc Benioff chairman, CEO salesforce.com, bestselling author of Behind the Cloud
"Too Big to Know is an inspiring read—especially for networked leaders who already believe that the knowledge to change the world is living and active, personal, and vastly interconnected. Weinberger casts the vision of designing networks for the greater good and gives us excellent examples of what that looks like in action, even as he warns us of the pitfalls that await us."
—Tony Burgess Cofounder, CompanyCommand.com
"Too Big to Know is a refreshing antidote to the doomsday literature of information overload. Weinberger outlines a bold Net infrastructure strategy that is inclusive rather that exclusive, creates more useful information, exploits linking technologies, and encourages institutional participation. The result is a network that is both 'a commons and a wilds' where the excitement lies in the limitless possibilities that connected human beings can realize."
—David S. Ferriero Archivist of the United States
#1 by Seth Finkelstein on January 7, 2012 - 11:10 pm
Quote
Regarding this part about Carr’s _The Shallows_ – “In any case, Carr’s book is admirably, straightforwardly technodeterminist: mere interaction with the Internet rewires our brains and diminishes our capacity for important forms of thought.” – it’s not my fight, I’ve been very critical of that book, and Nick Carr does not need me to defend him. And yes, I know the politics, between you and him.
However, just for the futility of it – this is really quite a misreading of the Internet technodeterminist opposition, where I count myself. It’s conflated physical and political effects. For example (note positions deliberately exaggerated for effect):
1) Automobile evangelist – “Automobiles subvert hierarchy, our world is being democratically disrupted at the touch of an engine. The mobility and personal linkage these new autos create will usher in a new era of freedom, against that old authoritarian legacy horse-bound society.”
2) Automobile anti-determinist – “Governments and police can use automobiles too. The army can even buy heavy vehicles for suppressing rebellions”.
3) _The Cripples_ author – “Using automobiles turns everyone into cripples, since they no longer walk as much as they once did. Kids today, those spoiled brats who are “driven” everywhere, may eventually be unable to walk entirely”.
The argument of #3 (whether true or false) is not the sort of “determinism” at issue between #1 and #2.