A future is in store where all the world’s content and information exist in a quantum state – potentially in all formats and on all platforms at the same time – and is generated at volumes and speeds that would have driven Hieronimo Squarciafico mad and made Socrates’ head explode.

In practice, this may not make much of a difference to most people.... See more

If the printing press overloaded us with information, then the internet buried us in it.

The cognitive effects of new media technology have been observed and debated throughout history. Socrates said that writing introduced “forgetfulness of the soul” and discouraged dialogue and internal reflection.

Writing also led to a more literal kind of forgetfulness. Ancient Greece was an oral culture that practiced advanced techniques for... See more