The Human Factor

This entry was originally posted on 1 April 2003 at 4:11 p.m.

In my last journal entry, i mentioned that i'm reading a book called Visions by Michio Kaku. Now, since the title of that book could refer to lots of things--including things like certain kinds of spirtuality, UFOs, and the results of hallucinogenic drugs--i thought i ought to clarify it a little.

Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and a professor at the City University of New York. And not just any theoretical physicist (though they're a brilliant lot to begin with), but he's also one of the co-founders of string theory. He's a smart, smart guy also happens to be up for this year's Public Understanding of Science Award, which is given out by the Exploratorium. His book Visions, written in 1996, is about the way that science and technology will change our lives over the next 50-100 years.

Although i haven't finished reading the book yet, there are a couple of passages that i've found particularly interesting. One of them is:

In many ways, the impact of the Internet can be compared to that of Gutenberg's movable type of the 1450s, when it became possible for large numbers of books to reach a mass audience in Europe. (p. 50)

Farther down the page, he goes on:

But the detractors of the Internet claim that it's a passing fad that will slowly fade away, as people get tired of being "flamed" and wading nose-deep in a pile of cyberjunk.

[...]

Perhaps the most consistent critic of the Internet is computer expert Clifford Stoll, author of the antimanifesto Silicon Snake Oil. Stoll pooh-poohs the claim that the Internet will one day swallow up all forms of human interaction. "Few aspects of daily life require computers, digital networks, or massive connectivity," says Stoll. "They're irrelevant to cooking, driving, visiting, negotiating, eating, hiking, dancing, speaking, and gossiping. You don't need a keyboard to bake bread, play touch football, piece a quilt, build a stone wall, recite a poem, or say a prayer." (p.50)

This makes me laugh. I haven't seen an office today that doesn't use the Internet for research, advertising, information dissemination, and communication. The thought of offices that aren't just wired, but networked, inspires fears of raving Luddites in many of my colleagues. And we're academics for goodness sake.

Stoll argues that computers and networks are "irrelevant" to many of our interactions. Clearly, Stoll has forgotten to take the Human Factor into consideration. The Human Factor is this: as a species, we're extremely resourceful--to the point that we revel in excess, relevant or not. Just because something is technically irrelevant doesn't mean that people won't examine it, latch onto it, and incorporate it into daily existence. In fact, quite the opposite is often the case: give a chimp a box of tools, and he'll use the one appropriate for the job. Give a human a box of tools, and he'll use every single one in the box, regardless of whether it's necessary for the job. And if he can't use them all, he'll certainly try.

We're a funny species that way.