Is it really that comforting?
Knowing (or at least sensing) that the universe makes sense probably lets many
of us sleep better at night - even if it isn't really true. In a similar vein,
knowing that answers are out there, are available, can be Googled right from our
desks, seems to create a feeling of security in us. I may not know the answer,
but I know that if I'm willing to take the time to look for it, I can find it.
But exactly the opposite can also be true. The answers may be out there, but there's
no real discernible path toward getting to them, only some sort of magic that
cuts across boundaries and organizational systems. In the end the answers may
actually get to us (and fast) but we're still left with a feeling of being lost,
of not having any useful landmarks that tell us where we are or where we've been,
of how we got there. It's as though the price of the immediate availability of
information is a loss of the sense of security that having that information once gave
us.
Go to: It ain't that way no more, or
Go to: Who cares?