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Feb-11-2012 23:38printcomments

Information Overload

Information overload is reflected in global chaos leading to major conflicts and worldwide upheavals.

Information overload
At what point does it become too much?

(MANNAS, Bahrain ) - Six months ago, I wrote about Alvin Toffler's book Future Shock, which looks at a world with "too much change in too short a period of time".

In Toffler's view, change overwhelms people, leaving them disconnected and suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation" –- or “future shocked”.

The majority of social problems are symptoms of future shock according to Toffler. From his discussion of the components we also suffer from "information overload".

Journalist William J. Lynott explains that the brain has limits on how much information it can handle. Beyond that limit the brain becomes overloaded; thinking and reasoning become dulled, decision-making flawed and, in some cases, impossible.

Lynott says "We are being overwhelmed with information. Each new day introduces an unrelenting flow of data -- TV news, the Internet, e-mail, voicemail, faxes, cell phones, pagers, billboards, junk mail, newspapers, magazines, books, catalogues, nonstop cable news."

Even without considering social media like the current fascination with Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn, Lynott argues there's no escape. "It assaults us at home, at work, even at play,” he says.

“By one estimate, a single issue of the New York Times contains more information than the average 17th-century person would come across in an entire lifetime."

Sociology Professor William I Robinson writes "As the crisis of global capitalism spirals out of control, the powers that be in the global system appear to be adrift and unable to propose viable solutions."

Is this a result of information overload as Toffler predicted and Lynott observed? It has become very difficult to handle all of the information bombarding us while trying to keep focused on anything.

With a spotlight on the current situation, Robinson says "There will be no quick outcome of the mounting global chaos. We are in for a period of major conflicts and great upheavals."

Following the recent movements (if that's what the gatherings can be called) by "rioters" or "demonstrators" or “hooligans”, Robinson argues:

    From the slaughter of dozens of young protesters by the army in Egypt to the brutal repression of the Occupy movement in the United States, and the water cannons brandished by the militarised police in Chile against students and workers, states and ruling classes are unable to hold back the tide of worldwide popular rebellion.

Can there be much doubt that these events are chaotic? What do we have so far? Too much change happening too fast. Information overload is reflected in global chaos leading to major conflicts and worldwide upheavals.

How does information overload figure in chaos and how do we react to it? Remember, information overload comes when we are trying to cope with more information than we're able to process to make sensible decisions. In this situation, we either delay making decisions or we make the wrong decisions.

The solution is to be clear about key priorities and primary interests, use scanning to get through the piles of data and determine which information is actually relevant.

Instead of having dulled senses as a result of being bombarded by information overload, we can manage time better.

The volume of information we have today “throttles productivity, reduces our capability to absorb and learn, puts our physical and mental health at risk, and interferes with personal and business relationships," according to Jonathan Spira, CEO of Basex, a research firm focusing on issues companies face.

Spira has no doubt that "too much information without reflection can stall our productivity. It affects our ability to manage thoughts and ideas, contemplate and even to reason and think."

Solutions: avoid too much TV, focus, organize, take time to reflect, meditate, prioritize, Google "information overload".

___________________________________

Throughout his life as an educator, Dr. Paul J. Balles, a retired American university professor and freelance writer, has lived and worked in the Middle East for 40 years - first as an English professor (Universities of Kuwait and Bahrain), and for the past ten years as a writer, editor and editorial consultant.

He’s a weekly Op-Ed columnist for the GULF DAILY NEWS . Dr. Balles is also Editorial Consultant for Red House Marketing and a regular contributor to Bahrain This Month. He writes a weekly op-ed column for Akbar Al Khaleej (Arabic). He has also edited seven websites, including bahrainthismonth.com, womenthismonth.com

Paul has had more than 350 articles published, focusing on companies, personality profiles, entrpreneurs, women achievers, journalists and the media, the Middle East, American politics, the Internet and the Web, consumer reports, Arabs, diplomats, dining out and travel. Paul's articles on Salem-News.com are frank and enlightening. We are very appreciative of the incredible writings Dr. Balles has generated for our readers over the years, and we are very pleased to list him among our most valued contributors.

Indulging the hard subjects that keep the world divided is our specialty at Salem-News.com, and with writers like Dr. Paul Balles on our team, we amplify our ability to meet challenges and someday, will see the effects of this exist in context with a more peaceful and generally successful world.




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Hank Ruark February 12, 2012 11:41 am (Pacific time)

To all:
Dr. Bailes makes a compelling case built on long observation and very practical experience, with strong references to major studies.
For extremely practical pragmatic impact in Oregon today, see my continuing material about ALEC and the process it promotes, using this complexity of information situation to the hilt to build distorted and even perverted actions into our own democratic key processes at both state and national levels.
There are multitudinous other cases and situations in which growing complexity is a key component, but none any more significant in the long run that misuse of democratic process, as exemplified in ALEC

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