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From: taylor@hplabsc.UUCP (Dave Taylor)
Newsgroups: mod.comp-soc
Subject: Information Organization...
Message-ID: <822@hplabsc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Nov-86 14:12:43 EST
Article-I.D.: hplabsc.822
Posted: Wed Nov  5 14:12:43 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 5-Nov-86 23:13:23 EST
Reply-To: hplabs!WAnderson.wbst@Xerox.COM
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
Lines: 27
Approved: taylor@hplabs

This article is from WAnderson.wbst@Xerox.COM
 and was received on  Wed Nov  5 06:51:24 1986
 
Dave Taylor writes:

    "...let's try to discuss more the idea of supplying the tools
     for information organization and the uses and abuses thereof."

OK.  Why do we want tools to help with information organization?  That's
easy, right? (sic)  Information is essentially without meaning until
organization is imposed from without, or discovered within (is there a
difference?).

Given that, then organization becomes a significant problem as the
amount of information increases.  Are there limits to the usefulness of
increasing efficiency of organizing and relating these bits and
aggregates of information?  I think Nietzsche wrote that one should take
a walk in the woods after reading a book, implying that time is required
to digest ideas and to realize connections among them.  I agree that
computer tools can help, but only if we take the time to walk in the
woods before we start typing.  The potential problem with using
computers is that keystroking is mistaken for thinking (kind of like
underlining being mistaken for understanding when studying).  Anybody
have any good ideas on how to help combat this?  Do you see computers
helping? Or maybe you don't think of it as a problem?

Bill Anderson