Well, the librarians were by no means the only ones. From the mid-twentieth century on, the major advances in computing were missed. misread, mis-evaluated, mis-accommodated, and mis-exploited. I do not claim to be much better blessed with foresight than most; nor yet with 20/20 hindsight, so don't read this as coming with a superior sneer, nor yet an inferior one, but most applications to major IT and comms advances are analogous to using the internal combustion engine to brandish the buggy whip. The social dynamics of innovation are fascinating in their wasteful teleological inadequacy, and in their paradoxical Darwinian effectiveness, which rapidly is dissipated in the triviality of their application. Frankly, I am more and more unsure of what is happening. Humanity had better be heading for a order-of-magnitude leap, or the first social insect that achieves conscious intellect and effectual teleology will make mincemeat of us. Read Wells' "Empire of the Ants". In his creativity and thoughtfulness he still is the definitive leader in the history of science fiction. For all the good that did anyone... But he still makes good reading, which is more than you can say for most! On 2011/01/05 00:47 AM, Bowerbird@aol.com wrote:
librarians were their own worst enemies...
it's so easy to cast the blame elsewhere, but the truth is they shot themselves in the foot, then the leg, then the torso, then the heart...
-bowerbird
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