CHAPTER 8 Information Society LEARNING OUTCOMES ‘At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to: 1. determine the human and social impacts of the developments in the information age; 2. discuss the evolution of technology from the ancient times up to the present; and 3. illustrate how social media have affected their lives. Humans are surrounded on all sides by technology claiming to supply information: television, smart phones, and internet devices, among others. However, do they all provide information or just noise? More voices are trying to get our attention but how can we be sure that they share knowledge and the truth? To answer this basic question, a short historical backgrounder might prove useful, Before the printed word, the written word was prevalent. Yet, the intent to carry information has always been presentINFORMATION SOCIETY 87 INFORMATION A word is a combination of sounds that represents something, It is this significance which makes words distinct from just any kind of vocal utterance. Words are made up of sounds and yet they transmit something more significant. They transmit a message. The words are “informed” because they carry “information” (Chaisson, 2006; Ben-Naim, 2015). Words are informed with meaning given by the speaker and intended forthe listener. Simply put, they communicate meaning, THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE In the human quest for understanding the natural world, the ability to name and classify objects found in nature was seen as a first step in knowing. Thus, the scientific search for truth carly on recognized the usefulness of language and the ability it give to make sense of nature. For the ancient Greeks, language ‘was an object worthy of admiration. Words have power. This kind of knowing sprang from the Greek fascination and wonder at the power of words and language. How is it Possible that one’s idea can simultaneously exist in his/her mind and in another's? How is it possible that human beings can fhammunicate through words and thus form a community? Does the power of the communicated word come from the speaker, who is the thinker and the source, or from the listener, who is the recipient of the communication? However you answer these Points, it is clear that thinking in terms of a common system being generated by the speaker and received by the listener is useful in the pursuit of knowledge. Science, from the Latin word scire (meaning to know), is one kind of knowledge the Greeks wanted to understand. The idea of comprehending words as more than just Combinations of so uunds led the Greeks to seek out the principles88 SPECIAL TOPICS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY of everyday language. When talking to other people, for example, a meaningful message is created using ordinary sounds, Its meaning is also not diminished by multiplication— the speaker can use the same words over and over again to talk to ten, a hundred, or even a thousand people separately or at the same time. Nevertheless, the same message will be received by everyone. Words, therefore, can function across space and time without reducing their meaning. The first philosophers, as they thrashed about groping for and seeking a unifying principle in nature, sometimes hit upon things such as fire or water. But they believed that something was common in all of these. The many seemingly different things in the natural world must have a unifying factor. There was an inside to be “understood.” They sought for this meta phusis, literally meaning “after nature” (De Chardin, 1965). Plato's principle of “One and the Many” refers to the underlying unity among diverse beings in the natural world, For Plato, there is a common intrinsic nature shared by different objects, which determines their real sense. Biologists devised a way to illustrate this principle using a system differentiating between genus and species. Many species belong in one genus. In the 21* century, we are aware more than ever that there is rich diversity in nature, which technology has allowed us t0 discover (BANWA Natural Science, 2008), MATHEMATICS AS THE LANGUAGE OF NATURE Technology in the modern world is the fruit of science: Because the scientific method helped people discover how nature behaves, they were able to control mature with technology A more accurate statement is: Since people have iscovered the laws and language of nature, they can developINFORMATION Society 89 sechnology that uses these laws and language for their benefit. ‘This language is, of course, mathematics, the great contribution of Isaac Newton. Nature can be understood because it speaks #i the language of mathematics and the human brain, to a retain extent, can comprehend this language (Wigner, 1960). Unfortunately, this fact is not always appreciated. TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD The ability to think and conceptually comprehend nature and the principles it follows eventually leads to science. Even in tncient times, Western thinkers harnessed the forces of nature after understanding them better. Lost in antiquity is the first sailing vessel that worked through the power of the wind. Similacly, it was never recorded when the early people realized that fire has its own power and energy. Not all early inventions are lost in time, however. Hero of Alexandria, for instance, would invent a primitive steam engine in the first century (Davies, 1990). Figure 3.1 Ancient scribe working at his desk« 90 SPECIAL ToPIcs IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND Sociery THE PRINTING PRESS AND BEYOND Figure 3.2 Illustration of an old printing press The power of the eidos, or idea, would be witnessed in the succeeding centuries of development in the West. The ancient fascination with language gave rise to the Preservation of the words of earlier People at the same time when the West weakened itself due to internecine warfatt led to the transmission of ideas through hand-copying. Fron this manual action would arise the technology that wou! transform cultures—the Printing press. The development * the printing press, which may be regarded as the beginning“= INFORMATION Society 91 atrue revolution, could be dated to the 15 century. Through this technology, the ancient Greek idea that knowledge should be shared and communicated among humans would ae done on a scale unimagined by its thinkers. Usin, press, people on different sides of the world could share thest thoughts and ideas with each other, forming communities of thinkers across space and time (Connell, 1958), The world has never looked back. This technological invention allowed words and scientific ideas to establish a view of nature anchored in scholarly works and studies. For instance, new discoveries about the phenomenon of electricity were eagerly absorbed by fellow scientists who then utilized the science to create other technological products. The radio was built upon the wave nature of electricity and magnetism, and from there, television followed. tually be ig the printing In the age of information, the transmission of ideas has undergone changes. Meaning and depth are no longer conveyed strictly by rhetoric but rather by its electronic replacement, the digital signal or digit. Such a digital world is a direct offspring of the progressing world of technology built upon the many advances in science (Toffler, 1984). THE WORLD WIDE WEB A more modern example of technology feeding upon itself is the 20"-century tour de force: the World Wide Web through the internet. Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented it as a Way of addressing data processing and information sharing feeds among scientists for the European Organization fo Nuclear Research (CERN). CERN’s atom smasher Peel @ huge amount of scientific data every scond. I thu regu better data analyzers to work on the gathered ke : rap! in coordination with each other. While es Sfornation #0 telephone had allowed the transmission of in hand: Coolcaesar at Wikipedia. First Web server. Licensed Elomi cela Ms SACU AR ee Roey yates First_Web Figure 3.3 The NeXT Computer read be Ci. +: under CC BY-SA 3 Baia] o):4 cot i«QQ __ SPECIALTOPICS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY transcend physical boundaries, processing a veritable ocean and mountain of scientific data generated by the atom smasher needed a new medium. eet r asia eran Figure 3.3 The NeXT Computer used by Sir Tim Berners-Lee at CERN which became the first Web server With the ease of sharing information at present, its reliability becomes compromised. Anyone with a connection to other people can produce contents which are showing half- truths or even lies, giving rise to disinformation. Social medis also encourages building a community of like-minded people. The creation of these groups often reinforces biases and beliefs based only on the content that they allow within the community, forgoing the variation and clash of ideas provide in real life. Worse, these communities can be tapped by peop in power who may take advantage of these mechanism 3 controlling public opinion and harassing those who Pre*WHERE THE WEB WAS BORN Available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Where_the_WEB_was_born.jpgINFORMATION SocieTY 93. Posing views—for their own advantage. Meanwhile, the 8s to personal information makes one susceptible to ine predation, identity theft, and scamming, among others. WHERE THE WEB : : | WAS HORN " ena ce a een here_the, ov Figure 3.4 Plate next to the office where Sir Cailliau began the World Wide Web Berners-Lee and Robert Thus, it pays to be vigilant in utilizing these modern de at all times. es The technology applied when a sailor rigs up a piece of cloth to catch the wind is the same one that produces modern machines and devices, albeit less complex. Nevertheless, human beings have always found a way to address their needs and discover new frontiers with scientific thinking. Considering the many benefits we get from these technologies, we must also be responsible in utilizing them to avoid harming others and ourselves,