Information Overload: Past and Present

Annotations in the Gutenberg Bible

Ann Blair, a Professor of History at Harvard University, cites examples of information overload as early as the 13th century. Scholars became concerned with the inability to read the multitude of texts which were available, a situation which Gutenberg’s printing press only escalated. In the mid sixteenth century, Konrad von Gesner forewarned that the "overabundance of books" may be "confusing" or "harmful." In an effort to better organize the sea of books, he invented the bibliography. His Bibliotheca universalis detailed “all of the writers who had ever lived and the titles of all their works.” (Rozek, 2007)

Inventors and writers soon developed "knowledge management" tools. To combat information overload, they first searched to better structure information by developing navigational aids such as tables of contents and indices. “Others suggested note-taking methods, routines for memorizing, and procedures for recalling what had been memorized. (Johns)” Agostino Ramelli proposed new hardware: his book wheel was a massive device which held large books so the reader could rotate the wheel to toggle between volumes; hypertext at its earliest, perhaps.

As the literati of the time admitted to themselves that no one person could possibly read everything in existence, they adopted a system of peer review. Groups of scholars established committees to “read widely” in diverse topics, ultimately issuing perspectives that would help other scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. The concept of using peer review to combat information overload is one that has resurfaced today.

The term “Information Overload” was coined by Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book, Future Shock. According to Wikipedia, information overload is “the state of having too much information to make a decision or remain informed about a topic.” The overabundance of information is a result of both a large quantity of existing information and a high rate of production of new information. (“Information explosion” refers to the high rate at which new information is published.) The problem of information overload in today’s digital world is different from the problem faced by scholars in the 16th century. Computers and the internet have amplified the problem. Besides making it easier to publish new information and store archives of old material, the level of connectedness with which many of us live has made information overload a more active and interruptive problem. Konrad von Gesner, who lamented the amount of books in the mid sixteenth century, may have been overloaded with information while researching, reading, or investigating. When he was not actively working, however, he was likely able to relax and focus on that which he desired. Today, such an act is more difficult. From the businesswoman whose BlackBerry continuously notifies her of new messages which beg for her attention to the student whose essay writing is interrupted with e-mails, instant messages, and text messages, we are deluged with information.

Forthcoming

• The costs and effects of information overload.
• Coping mechanisms from the past and present (information design, peer review, software and other technologies.)

Sources

• Johns, Adrian. “The Birth of Scientific Reading.” Nature 409:6818 (January 2001), 287.
• Rozek, Victor. “As I See It: Operating on Overload.” IT Jungle. May 30, 2007.
• Potier, Beth. “Data overload nothing new: Too much information has vexed scholars for centuries.” Harvard Gazette. Feb 13, 2003.