We have met the Devil of Information Overload and his impish underlings, the computer virus, the busy signal, the dead link, and the PowerPoint presentation.
James GleickRead
We have a habit of turning to scientists when we want factual answers and artists when we want entertainment, but where are the facts about the nature of the self? Neurologists peering at PET scans and fMRIs know they aren't seeing the soul in there.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote questions the limitations of science and art in understanding the self.
James Gleick highlights a dichotomy between science and art, noting that while we often seek factual answers from scientists and entertainment from artists, there remains a significant gap in understanding the essence of our own identity. He emphasizes that despite the advances in neurological imaging, such as PET scans and fMRIs, these methods cannot capture the true nature of the self or the soul, suggesting that a deeper exploration is needed beyond empirical data.
Themes
SelfIdentityScienceArtSoulPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the limitations of science in understanding human emotions, this quote can be used to highlight the need for a philosophical perspective.
More from James Gleick
All quotes →A good part of 'The Information' is about the transition from an oral to a literary culture. Books effected such a great transformation in the way we think about the world, our history, our logic, mathematics, you name it. I think we would be greatly diminished as a people and as a culture if the book became obsolete.
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I'm trying to look at many, many things in modern life that I believe are going faster, and I'm trying to look at why they're going faster and what effect they have on us. We all know about FedEx and instant pudding, but it doesn't mean we've looked at all the consequences of our desire for speed.
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Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, where pattern and randomness interlace.
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Every time a new technology comes along, we feel we're about to break through to a place where we will not be able to recover. The advent of broadcast radio confused people. It delighted people, of course, but it also changed the world.
James GleickRead
"Half genius and half buffoon," Freeman Dyson ... wrote. ... [Richard] Feynman struck him as uproariously American-unbuttoned and burning with physical energy. It took him a while to realize how obsessively his new friend was tunneling into the very bedrock of modern science.
James GleickRead
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