{ "type": "topic", "site": { "name": "Leafy Quotes", "language": "en", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com" }, "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.", "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information", "heading": "Quotes about information", "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information.json", "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information.md", "quotes_count": 19, "authors_count": 12, "parent": { "name": "media", "slug": "media", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/media", "heading": "Quotes about media" }, "children": [], "quotes": [ { "id": "2a4f4225-86c7-4f2b-917a-534f0728123e", "slug": "in-the-past", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-czerski/storm-in-a-teacup/in-the-past", "text": "In the past, information was treasured... These days we live on the shore of an ocean of knowledge... with regular s that threaten out sanity.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Helen Czerski", "slug": "helen-czerski", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-czerski" }, "book": { "title": "Storm in a Teacup", "slug": "storm-in-a-teacup", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/helen-czerski/storm-in-a-teacup" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_Czerski#Storm_in_a_Teacup_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:51" }, { "id": "cdc33feb-ae5a-410e-a85f-6e98988655bc", "slug": "in-this-age", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/austin-kleon/steal-like-an-artist/in-this-age", "text": "In this age of information abundance and overload, those who get ahead will be the folks who figure out what to leave out, so they can concentrate on what's really important to them. Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Austin Kleon", "slug": "austin-kleon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/austin-kleon" }, "book": { "title": "Steal Like an Artist", "slug": "steal-like-an-artist", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/austin-kleon/steal-like-an-artist" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Austin_Kleon#Steal_Like_an_Artist_(2012)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:59" }, { "id": "e6da1a54-4db6-4c35-8239-be81ea807f5e", "slug": "you-make-a-plan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch/what-abigail-did-that-summer/you-make-a-plan", "text": "You make a plan without intelligence—you might as well not have a plan at all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ben Aaronovitch", "slug": "ben-aaronovitch", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch" }, "book": { "title": "What Abigail Did That Summer", "slug": "what-abigail-did-that-summer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch/what-abigail-did-that-summer" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 181, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "plans", "slug": "plans", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/plans" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ben_Aaronovitch#What_Abigail_did_that_Summer_(2021)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:34" }, { "id": "ed1be186-4c6f-4ed0-ae23-d79f3bca15e7", "slug": "data-are-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/the-spheres-of-heaven/data-are-not", "text": "Data are not the same as information. Before you can get the answers you want, you have to ask the right question.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "The Spheres of Heaven", "slug": "the-spheres-of-heaven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/the-spheres-of-heaven" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 341, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#The_Spheres_of_Heaven_(2001)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:35" }, { "id": "30f663c5-85bd-44ac-b202-768f371b83d5", "slug": "but-no-one", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/transcendence/but-no-one", "text": "But no one, no matter how intelligent, could make good inferences from bad data.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Transcendence", "slug": "transcendence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/transcendence" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 126, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "logic", "slug": "logic", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/logic" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Transcendence_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:33" }, { "id": "2c434feb-cd38-447d-bb28-df10184b0a4a", "slug": "nothing-was-more", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/transcendence/nothing-was-more", "text": "Nothing was more fascinating than information. It was infinite in quantity, or effectively so, limited only by the total entropy of the universe; it was vastly diverse and various; it was eternal; It was available for collection, anywhere and anytime. And, perhaps best of all, E. C. Tally thought with the largest amount of self-satisfaction that his circuits permitted, you never knew when it might come in useful.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Transcendence", "slug": "transcendence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/transcendence" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 165, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "knowledge", "slug": "knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Transcendence_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:33" }, { "id": "b89a511b-4881-4b93-a956-4ad33ef1cd1a", "slug": "so-whether-information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ray-kurzweil/the-singularity-is-near/so-whether-information", "text": "So whether information represents one man's sentimental archive, the accumulating knowledge base of the human-machine civilization, or the mind files stored in our brains, what can we conclude about the ultimate longevity of software? The answer is simply this: Information lasts only so long as someone cares about it. The conclusion that I've come to [...] is that there is no set of hardware and software standards existing today, nor any likely to come along, that will provide any reasonable level of confidence that the stored information will still be accessible (without unreasonable levels of effort) decades from now.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ray Kurzweil", "slug": "ray-kurzweil", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ray-kurzweil" }, "book": { "title": "The Singularity Is Near", "slug": "the-singularity-is-near", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ray-kurzweil/the-singularity-is-near" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 329, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil#The_Singularity_Is_Near:_When_Humans_Transcend_Biology_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:55" }, { "id": "36f3d941-a685-4e8f-9d33-da59f1a065b6", "slug": "truth-and-information-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-cadigan/mindplayers/truth-and-information-are", "text": "“Truth and information are not the same thing. I promise you that’s a fact.” “So you told yourself. But you have to admit that they do coincide often enough to let us all get around in the world safely.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Pat Cadigan", "slug": "pat-cadigan", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-cadigan" }, "book": { "title": "Mindplayers", "slug": "mindplayers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/pat-cadigan/mindplayers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 183, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pat_Cadigan#Mindplayers_(1987)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:08" }, { "id": "51fc9305-3335-42d8-bb0f-6cd312e32319", "slug": "youve-seen-how", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donella-h-meadows/thinking-in-systems/youve-seen-how", "text": "You've seen how information holds system together and how delayed, biased, scattered, or missing information can make feedback loops malfunction. Decision-makers can respond to information they don't have, can't respond accurately to information that is inaccurate, and can't respond in a timely way to information that is late. I would guess that most of what goes wrong in systems goes wrong because of biased, late, or missing information. [...] Information is power.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Donella H. Meadows", "slug": "donella-h-meadows", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donella-h-meadows" }, "book": { "title": "Thinking in Systems", "slug": "thinking-in-systems", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/donella-h-meadows/thinking-in-systems" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 173, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "power", "slug": "power", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donella_Meadows#Thinking_in_Systems:_A_Primer_(2008)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:50" }, { "id": "4204ba31-c02c-47f1-987d-be5aef9f2e67", "slug": "information-wants-to-be-free-remember", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/cosm/information-wants-to-be-free-remember", "text": "Information wants to be free—remember that old saw? Some truth to it, only it’s backwards. This isn’t an information economy—we’re drowning in that—it’s an attention economy. That’s what everybody’s vying for.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gregory Benford", "slug": "gregory-benford", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford" }, "book": { "title": "Cosm", "slug": "cosm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/cosm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 167, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "attention", "slug": "attention", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/attention" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gregory_Benford#Cosm_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:23" }, { "id": "f95bf9a5-8f60-4429-a266-6800ef51ac43", "slug": "it-was-an-example", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/timescape/it-was-an-example", "text": "It was an example of what he thought of as the Law of Controversy: Passion was inversely proportional to the amount of real information available.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gregory Benford", "slug": "gregory-benford", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford" }, "book": { "title": "Timescape", "slug": "timescape", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/timescape" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 182, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "passion", "slug": "passion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/passion" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" }, { "name": "arguments", "slug": "arguments", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/arguments" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gregory_Benford#Timescape_(1980)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:22" }, { "id": "3d5b91af-daef-4835-b7b4-e0c9aaeeb23b", "slug": "disintegration-of-structure", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/in-the-ocean-of-night/disintegration-of-structure", "text": "Disintegration of structure equals information loss.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gregory Benford", "slug": "gregory-benford", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford" }, "book": { "title": "In the Ocean of Night", "slug": "in-the-ocean-of-night", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/in-the-ocean-of-night" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 195, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gregory_Benford#In_the_Ocean_of_Night_(1977)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:21" }, { "id": "09379939-66d4-42c6-9ecb-63afb88160ee", "slug": "in-many-ways", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paul-theroux/fresh-air-fiend/in-many-ways", "text": "In many ways connection has been disastrous. We have confused information (of which there has been too much of) with ideas (of which there are too few. I found out much more about the world and myself by being unconnected.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Paul Theroux", "slug": "paul-theroux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paul-theroux" }, "book": { "title": "Fresh-air Fiend", "slug": "fresh-air-fiend", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/paul-theroux/fresh-air-fiend" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "technology", "slug": "technology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/technology" }, { "name": "ideas", "slug": "ideas", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ideas" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Theroux#Fresh_Air_Fiend_(2000)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:16" }, { "id": "e07d2263-fb79-4c63-918e-5d1f803345c2", "slug": "that-country-will", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norbert-wiener/the-human-use-of-human-beings/that-country-will", "text": "That country will have the greatest security whose informational and scientific situation is adequate to meet the demands that may be put on it—the country in which it is fully realized that information is important as a stage in the continuous process by which we observe the outer world, and act effectively upon it. In other words, no amount of scientific research, carefully recorded in books and papers, and then put into our libraries with labels of secrecy, will be adequate to protect us for any length of time in a world where the effective level of information is perpetually advancing.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Norbert Wiener", "slug": "norbert-wiener", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norbert-wiener" }, "book": { "title": "The Human Use Of Human Beings", "slug": "the-human-use-of-human-beings", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norbert-wiener/the-human-use-of-human-beings" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 121, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "safety", "slug": "safety", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/safety" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norbert_Wiener#The_Human_Use_of_Human_Beings_(1950)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:18" }, { "id": "628dac96-a21c-43c4-a47d-3c8d606748df", "slug": "to-live-effectively", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norbert-wiener/the-human-use-of-human-beings/to-live-effectively", "text": "To live effectively is to live with adequate information.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Norbert Wiener", "slug": "norbert-wiener", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norbert-wiener" }, "book": { "title": "The Human Use Of Human Beings", "slug": "the-human-use-of-human-beings", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/norbert-wiener/the-human-use-of-human-beings" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 17, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "life", "slug": "life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/life" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norbert_Wiener#The_Human_Use_of_Human_Beings_(1950)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:18" }, { "id": "e496c96e-c8db-4ac8-889c-323f01381723", "slug": "the-only-factor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kevin-kelly/new-rules-for-the-new-economy/the-only-factor", "text": "The only factor becoming scarce in a world of abudance is human attention.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Kevin Kelly", "slug": "kevin-kelly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kevin-kelly" }, "book": { "title": "New Rules for the New Economy", "slug": "new-rules-for-the-new-economy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/kevin-kelly/new-rules-for-the-new-economy" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "attention", "slug": "attention", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/attention" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kevin_Kelly_(editor)#New_Rules_for_the_New_Economy:_10_Radical_Strategies_for_a_Connected_World_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:17" }, { "id": "a617d3dc-ac84-4488-a947-a8ce82e4b908", "slug": "the-relationship-between", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman/technopoly/the-relationship-between", "text": "The relationship between information and the mechanisms for its control is fairly simple to describe: Technology increases the available supply of information. ...control mechanisms are strained... When additional control mechanisms are themselves technical, they in turn further increase the supply of information. When the supply of information is no longer controllable, a general breakdown in psychic tranquillity and social purpose occurs. Without defenses, people have no way of finding meaning in their experiences, lose their capacity to remember, and have difficulty imagining reasonable futures.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neil Postman", "slug": "neil-postman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman" }, "book": { "title": "Technopoly", "slug": "technopoly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman/technopoly" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "technological progress", "slug": "technological-progress", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/technological-progress" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Postman#Technopoly:_the_Surrender_of_Culture_to_Technology_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:39" }, { "id": "4adf10ba-b840-4777-9fb4-fe21a52191d0", "slug": "technopoly-is-a-state", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman/technopoly/technopoly-is-a-state", "text": "Technopoly is a state of culture... state of mind... the deification of technology, which means that the culture seeks its authorization in technology... its satisfactions... its orders... This requires the development of a new kind of social order, and of necessity leads to the rapid dissolution of much that is associated with traditional beliefs. Those who feel most comfortable in Technopoly are those who are convinced that technical progress is humanity's superhuman achievement and the instrument by which our most profound dilemmas may be solved. They also believe that information is an unmixed blessing, which through its continued and uncontrolled production and dissemination offers increased freedom, creativity, and peace of mind. The fact that information does none of these things — but quite the opposite — seems to change few opinions, for unwavering beliefs are an inevitable product of the structure of Technopoly. In particular, Technopoly flourishes when the defenses against information break down.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neil Postman", "slug": "neil-postman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman" }, "book": { "title": "Technopoly", "slug": "technopoly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman/technopoly" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "technological progress", "slug": "technological-progress", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/technological-progress" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Postman#Technopoly:_the_Surrender_of_Culture_to_Technology_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:39" }, { "id": "046fcd65-a3f0-4014-933a-6b1ea016a78d", "slug": "because-of-what", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman/technopoly/because-of-what", "text": "Because of what computers commonly do... With the exception of the electric light, there never has been a technology that better exemplifies Marshall McLuhan's aphorism \"The medium is the message.\" …the \"message\" of computer technology is comprehensive and domineering. The computer argues, to put it baldly, that the most serious problems confronting us at both personal and professional levels require technical solutions through fast access to information otherwise unavailable. ...this is... nonsense. Our most serious problems are not technical, nor do they arise from inadequate information. If a nuclear catastrophe occurs, it shall not be because of inadequate information. Where people are dying of starvation, it does not occur because of inadequate information. If families break up, children are mistreated, crime terrorizes a city, education is impotent, it does not happen because of inadequate information. Mathematical equations, instantaneous communication, and vast quantities of information have nothing whatever to do with any of these problems. And the computer is useless in addressing them.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Neil Postman", "slug": "neil-postman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman" }, "book": { "title": "Technopoly", "slug": "technopoly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/neil-postman/technopoly" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "technological progress", "slug": "technological-progress", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/technological-progress" }, { "name": "information", "slug": "information", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/information" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Postman#Technopoly:_the_Surrender_of_Culture_to_Technology_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:39" } ] }