Apprehension During Information Revolution

 I see computerphobes in the 15th century. After reading "The Press, Rival and Ally," I became interested by the different attitudes toward new technology. For example, the text says that Italian humanists "were at first hostile to printed books" because they would reduce learning to the level of the masses. As a computer science major, I was curious and did some research into early computing devices, but did not find similar hostility toward early computers. I did find this article on the "computerphobia" phenomenon observed in the 1980s.

 
What I learned is that change in communication modes on a large scale can be hard for members of the general populace to accept, even when there are clear benefits to the new mode. There are almost certainly drawbacks to each, but I suggest that the benefits outweigh the costs.

 Printed in the same resource as “The Press,” the page before refers to “aggressive humanists” who were looking to sway public opinion by way of public speaking. It is possible that part of their animosity toward print in general was out of fear of being replaced as skilled communicators. That certainly shows up in “When People Feared Computers.” Those mathematicians who held positions as “computers” at various companies did in fact lose those jobs to computers of the mechanical variety. In the Renaissance, I suspect that the fear was that oratory in general would be replaced, or that the “vulgar” populace would corrupt the art.

“Computerphobes” as defined here are few and far between. More common are those who sympathize with TS Eliot when he wrote, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” My experience has been that most professions have been enhanced by the memorizing and processing ability of computers. Businesses thrive on the data shared between companies. Jobs appear for people who can manage and interpret that data. Technicians, software specialists, and even linguists are required to build, maintain, and communicate with our hyper-fast new “books.” As the medium of communication improves, so does the efficiency with which we conduct everyday life. I believe that it is up to us as people to ensure that, in a world of data quantity, we preserve as much of the wisdom quantity that we can find throughout humanity’s rich history.