In the post-singularity world of The Methuselarity Transformation, implantable MELD chips will be able to integrate seamlessly all the knowledge in the Universal Data Base with each person’s consciousness. In such a future world, we could imagine that our personal databases will update instantly in the background as new information is added to the UDB.
So what will be the future of reading if the content of whole libraries can be consumed in an instant? Will the information we absorb include form as well as content? Will we have an instant appreciation of how the content is composed or of its emotional tone? And will the unending stream of information create the ultimate spoiler: stories with simultaneously appearing beginnings, middles, and endings? Our lost ability to savor mystery and suspense could become an unintended consequence of satisfying our insatiable thirst for knowledge.
In 2014, we can still enjoy books “the old-fashioned way,” by downloading them on our Kindles, tablets, and phones (or by curling up with a good stack of paper for those so inclined). You will have the opportunity August 15 - 17 to download the Kindle version of The Methuselarity Transformation for FREE, explore the future of reading among other quandaries we will face in a not so distant future, and immerse yourself in a suspenseful tale.
"Will the information we absorb include form as well as content? Will we have an instant appreciation of how the content is composed or of its emotional tone". But is not the truth always buried in a miasma of human emotions and is better served peeled off these complexed subjectivity... Would not the Dna profit exactly of this programmed information devoid of emotion so that it is not reinterpreted again by the subjective emotions of the receiver??
ReplyDeleteWriting is more than a means of conveying information. It's also an art form, the experience of which would be lost with just the transfer of raw data. The ability to experience art and beauty is an essential part of what makes us human.
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