The medium is being oversold, our expectations have become bloated, and there’s damned little critical discussion of the implications of an online world.
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: ”Where does the information superhighway lead? Straight to utopia, according to its many enthusiasts … Now comes astronomer and programmer Clifford Stoll, contending that the information superhighway is taking us places we don’t, or at least shouldn’t, want to go. Out of sync and out of sorts with the reigning hucksterism, he asserts that ‘the medium is being oversold, our expectations have become bloated, and there’s damned little critical discussion of the implications of an online world.'”
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: General, Overarching Remarks
Subtopic: General
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.