Life in the real world is far more interesting, far more important, far richer, than anything you’ll ever find on a computer screen.
Predictor: Stoll, Clifford
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for The Tampa Tribune, Stephen Bates writes about Clifford Stoll, author of the book “Silicon Snake Oil,” a cautionary look at the impact of computers and the Internet. Bates writes:”Nothing on a computer, Stoll contends, can match spelunking, baking bread, visiting an art museum, poring over old letters or walking in the woods. ‘Life in the real world is far more interesting, far more important, far richer, than anything you’ll ever find on a computer screen.’ Whereas Americans once worried that computers imperiled individuality (remember those 1960s fighting words ‘Do not fold, spindle or mutilate’?), Stoll suggests that computers may dehumanize us in a different way, by isolating us from nature, our fellow humans and, withal, the wonders of the senses.”
Biography:Clifford Stoll was an astrophysicist who also wrote the influential books “Silicon Snake Oil” (1995) and “The Cuckoo’s Egg.” A long-time network user, Stoll made “Silicon Snake Oil” his platform for finding fault with the Internet hype of the early 1990s. He pointed out the pitfalls of a completely networked society and offered arguments in opposition to the hype. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Social Withdrawal/Addiction
Name of publication: Tampa Tribune
Title, headline, chapter name: Beware the Net-heads
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=699382f1bfd3fa501603c9fbffaf2d3d&_docnum=39&wchp=dGLbVlz-lSlzV&_md5=fce2ad5c303fc41f036f14160e66cac2
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Tencer, Elizabeth L.