Misunderstanding Media |
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Author:
| Winston, Brian |
Series title: | Routledge Library Editions: Cultural Studies |
ISBN: | 978-1-315-51220-4 |
Publication Date: | Oct 2016 |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis Group
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Imprint: | Routledge |
Book Format: | Ebook |
List Price: | USD $32.95 |
Book Description:
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The 1980s saw constant reports of an information revolution. This book, first published in 1986, challenges this view. It argues that the information revolution is an illusion, a rhetorical gambit, an expression of profound historical ignorance, and a movement dedicated to purveying misunderstanding and disseminating disinformation. In this historically based attack on the information revolution, Professor Winston takes a had look at the four central information technologies -...
More Description
The 1980s saw constant reports of an information revolution. This book, first published in 1986, challenges this view. It argues that the information revolution is an illusion, a rhetorical gambit, an expression of profound historical ignorance, and a movement dedicated to purveying misunderstanding and disseminating disinformation. In this historically based attack on the information revolution, Professor Winston takes a had look at the four central information technologies - telephones, television, computers and satellites. He describes how these technologies were created and diffused, showing that instead of revolution we just have 'business as usual'. He formulates a 'law' of the suppression of radical potential - a law which states that new telecommunication technologies are introduced into society only insofar as their disruptive potential is contained. Despite the so-called information revolution, the major institutions of society remain unchanged, and most of us remain in total ignorance of the history of technology.