Essential Information
For my review of an information technology book I chose
The Big Switch Rewiring the World from Edison to Google
by Nicholas Carr.
Published by W.W. Norton & Company in 2013
ISBN 978-0-393-34522
Author’s Purpose
In The Big Switch, Carr’s purpose is to inform the reader of the similar effects the internet is having on our world comparing it to the industrial revolution and the advancements that were made with electricity. Carr’s intended audience is the computing public. This book could be easily read and understood by anyone who uses and is affected by electricity and the internet.
Book Thesis
Carr breaks down the history and the positive and negative effects felt in the early 20th century with electricity and brings it back to present day by explaining the history and impact of the internet on computing and our everyday lives. Just as the invention and the spread of electricity into a readily available commodity affected the lives of consumers in every way, so to has the internet in our present situation. Carr states in the book’s prologue, that during a visit to a data center he realized that he was standing in “a prototype of a new kind of power plant-a computing plant that would come to power our information age the way great electric plants power the industrial age” (Carr, 2013, p.5). The efficiency that we can now achieve in the modern era will turn “computing into a cheap, universal commodity” (Carr, 2013, p.5). The book is broken down into two parts, One Machine and Living in the Cloud.
While ‘One Machine’ discusses the beginnings of the industrial revolution, along with the origin and progression of electricity; it also discusses the beginnings of information technology which was surprisingly spurred through the US Census Bureau. They took two large steps first in 1890 by using Herman Hellerith’s punch card machine and then in the 50s by purchasing one of the first commercial computers. We learn in ‘One Machine’ that computers began as something that were not intended for an average everyday tool like we know them today. With large sizes and prices, they were not personal. In the 40 years between 1960 and 2000 though, they became the personal item we know them as today followed soon after by the internet. The internet created the opportunity for all machines to be connected and shared, becoming one.
The second half of the book titled, ‘Living in the Cloud’ delves into what the internet has brought about. It explores how the internet has connected all computers to create a ‘world wide computer’ and the negative and positive consequences that come from this. Carr explores how our use of the internet and computing is creating job displacement, similar to that of electricity’s effect but now it is more continual and widespread. He states, “Computerization puts American wage-earners in a double bind: it reduces the demand for their jobs as it expands the supply of workers ready and able to do them” (Carr, 2013, p.146). We learn that the internet has allowed us to consume singular things purchasing single tracks from albums, pages of books and more. In our eyes, we see that we are able to not waste, when really we could be losing the artistic impact of the work as a whole.
The use of the internet can connect us to many people and things with the click of a button, but just as easy as it can do this for us, it can also do this for those with ill will. It is now a modern concern that terrorism and terror groups can use the internet to coordinate and connect, which leads to a power struggle over how the internet should be controlled for the safety of citizens. When considering citizen safety, we also think of privacy, which we give up as soon as we log in. How we operate online leaves our thumbprint all over the interwebs. We willingly offer up information that identifies us. Ultimately, Carr drives home the point that computing is changing our reality, but we are in control of what and how it affects us.
Support of the Thesis
I agree with Carr and his overall goal of the book to communicate to the reader how technology is changing our lives in many ways and that it is important to recognize the changes good and bad. A portion of the book I found interesting in looking at its application towards our recent presidential election. Mentioning multiple studies on the tendency we have to search out those that are ‘like us’, one found that “the more people converse or otherwise share information with other people who hold similar views, the more extreme their views become” (Carr, 2013, p. 165). This to me was very apparent with the use of social media and the 2016 election, especially seeing as this was written three years prior.
As a social media user, I saw first hand how cut throat and extreme both sides of the political aisle became toward each other unlike any election in the past. Our country also seems now more divided than it has ever been, and looking at the information Carr has presented, it could very well stem from our access to the online communities that create vacuums of our beliefs and viewpoints not allowing for much compromise across the lines.
Concepts of Information Theory
One of the most prominent concepts of information theory present in my book selection is the concept of the duality of information. Formal information is constantly passed back and forth through the internet. Carr shares, “The internet doesn’t just connect information-processing machines, it connects people” (Carr, 2013, p. 217). Over the world wide computer, we exchange data that allows us to create blogs, post photos, and more all through our applications. The formal “noncontextual, standardized, universal” information is what allows the internet to be so global (Haque, 2015, p.4). The information we are passing back and forth when we make article selections or search for things on Google, is providing that hard data for businesses, marketers, and media sources to know how to act. Informal information comes into play with how we interpret our online actions, the internet allows us to be so connected to the world around us, that we have the opportunity for more social interaction, especially with groups that share our likes and dislikes than we ever have before. The example of ads being tailored to us based on our online activity is also proof of the concept of big data, the “science of data collection that generates economic value and opportunity to customize services” (Haque, 2015, p. xi). Carr shares “few of us are aware of the extent to which we’ve disclosed details about our identities and lives” (2013, p. 190).
Was it interesting?
My personal reading selections do not gravitate towards the topic of information technology. I am more of a historical fiction connoisseur, but I found this book did a great job of keeping this topic interesting and informative. The use of historical facts and how our current actions are still a reflection of what has happened in the past made for a good read. It is not often that you think of computing and the water wheel in the same realm, but when you look at the change both made on our culture, they are very similar. Carr uses many real world examples to support the points he makes about computing and technology. The topics that Carr touches on from chapter to chapter relate back to what we have discussed in the course.
Works Cited:
- Carr, N. G. (2013). The big switch: Rewiring the world, from Edison to Google. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Haque, A. (2015). Surveillance, transparency, and democracy: public administration in the information age. Tuscaloosa: University Alabama Press.
