I have, since my earliest memories, been fascinated by the rapid advancements in science and technology. I have seen, in the course of the last 40+ years, our ability to affect the world around us in almost any way we desire, and I have also seen changes to major segments of humanity made through the application of power, without thought to long term consequences.

In addressing the impact of the Information Age on society in general, we must consider the three main mechanisms of the information exchange process as it exists today. They are the personal computer, the Internet, and the human mind. All three are capable of perceiving and representing the world as pure information, and the rate at which that information can be processed and transmitted is increasing rapidly.

About forty years ago, I began to read science fiction books. Inexpensive paperbacks filled with stories about interstellar travel, time machines, and computers. I can vividly recall one passage that forever altered the way I would think about computers. Picture, if you will, a bank of keyboards and a host of "scientists" workin

Dumbill, Edd, 1994, Jargon File 3.0.0, Available from World Wide Web:(http://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/jargon300/Parkinson_sLawofData.html)

In the intervening years, other images of information manipulation and exchange added color to my perception of computing: strangely enough, Herman Hesse's "Magister Ludi" was a perfect example. In this story, abstract concepts would be premised, and equally obstructing arguments would be laid out for evaluation. Each point and counter point would be woven into a loom of beads, which were used, much like an abacus, to represent the relationships between the abstract ideas, hypothesis, theories and logical constructs.

From an advantageous perspective of twenty plus years in the industry, I can see a distinct direction that the "Information Age" is moving mankind. I say "moving", because I believe we are blindly and gently being pushed down the path of least resistance and most enjoyment, hurried on by the call of faster throughput, more content, and brighter colors. As long as it's moving, working, or giving us satisfaction. Hail Ceaser, and thanks for the bread and circus!

But who can blame us for wanting to know more? If we ate of the fruit of knowledge, maybe we're paying for it now. We are the curious, hairless monkeys who live in a desert of ignorance and have a desperate passion for the rivers of learning. Far from being quenched, our thirst for knowledge has grown in direct proportion to our ability to gather the information we desire. More importantly the amount of information available has grown geometrically in proportion to our ability to search and sort it.

The other "law" that deals directly with information as it applies to humanity is a little more esoteric, but nonetheless true. This second principle is called "Parkinson's Law Of Data" and is usually expressed like this: "Data expands to fill the space available". In other words buying more memory encourages the use of more memory-intensive techniques. It has been observed over the last 10 years that the memory usage of evolving systems tends to double roughly once every 18 months. The same principle can be applied to information storage and retrieval systems (hard disks, as well as CD and DVD burners). Terabyte drives are now affordable to private citizens.

we have created within our lifetime is comparable to the invention of writing, the wheel, and the discovery of fire itself. We have achieved an instant person-to-person communications ability that functions reliably regardless of geographical location, nothing less than electromechanical mental telepathy. Not since the transition from hunter/gatherers to agriculture has humanity faced such an enormous change in personal interaction, and all within a single span of time that encompasses just a few generations.

With the stuff of cyberspace, we can finally become the dream as well as the dreamer.

Rubin, Sydney, 1999, "Internet Policy Institute Launched as First Independent Think Tank On the Internet's Impact On Society", Available from World Wide Web:(http://www.businesswire.com/webbox/bw.110999/193131269.htm)

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3224
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)