Comments on: "The Information" by James Gleick

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:23:56 +0000

JB - as a big fan of your thinking/writing, I thought this was particularly great, fwiw:

"...the truth is that both understanding God and understanding information are quests that are more about the narrative than the ending...

In the end, I feel far more prepared to be a participant in what we're making together in this industry, more rooted in the history that got us here, and more....yeah, I'll say it, more reverent about the implications of our work moving forward."

Keep up the great work!

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:56:02 +0000

John, I'm glad you're reading books like these and posting up your commentary. Too often the tech press and digerati touch only on the "glitz and glamour" of what is going on in technology without actually knowing any of the basic mathematics and physics of how it happens and why.

Gleick presents an excellent overview of information, but you're right that he doesn't delve very deeply into the thing itself.

I'd highly recommend reading Claude Shannon's original paper "The Mathematical Theory of Communication" which can be easily found online for free. You might be slightly better served by purchasing the University of Illinois edition with Warren Weaver's lengthy but clear and concise introduction, but either way, just a few hours of invested time will make a lot more of the theory crystal clear. Even a high school level of mathematics and physics under your belt will allow you to grasp the majority of his presentation.

Perhaps if more did as you are, people would have a better grasp of simple concepts like bandwidth, error correction, cryptography, and general communication (satellite, internet, cellular, landline, etc.) in the modern age.

I daresay that Shannon's original paper may be one of the top 5 most influential things ever written, it just isn't as widely publicized as it ought to be -- yet.

By: Venu

Venu — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:07:47 +0000

what was thought provoking was the extent to which a major innovation that defined a period (steam engine, telegraph) was also an ‘invention attenuating’ metaphor for the next big thing (computer as giant steam engine, nervous system as giant telegraph – really!). any guesses on what the next invention attenuator might be?

By: Gil

Gil — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 03:36:43 +0000

The Information is a great contribution to the telling of the story of information. Particularly impressive is Gleick’s vast canvas and the range of secondary and primary sources he consulted. Gleick’s engaging writing style serves readers well when he portrays the lives in information of his cast of characters but leaves them disengaged when he goes through the “dry tick tock” that obviously fascinates him. While acknowledging what Shannon has wrought – information as meaningless ones and zeros – Gleick has left out the story of the last twenty years (and the next twenty or two hundred), the invention of the Web and the “return of meaning” (the subtitle of his Epilogue). Maybe it will be in his next book or maybe in yours?

By: Russ

Russ — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:46:58 +0000

Two books I’d recommend along the lines of technological transformations of humanity:

1) Erik Davis’s Techgnosis (http://techgnosis.com/techgnosis/techgnosis.html) – a history of the mythological roots of technology. Spans the entirety of history from the ancient technological mecca of Alexandria, to the myths and demons that inspired the current web.

2) Nonzero – The Logic of Human Destiny. More of a anthropological anthology, this Robert Wright book charts human evolutionary changes as a result of technological advance.

Both are must reads if you’re interested in our relationship with information.

By: Christian

Christian — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:43:20 +0000

Thanks for your point of view on the "The Information", it is in my reading list.

Please, keep us updated with the list of books you are reading in preparation for "What We Hath Wrough".
Looking forward to reading your next book!