My job is to tell the public what's going on. His distinction is critical. Mere telling focuses on the mechanics of transmitting news of the moment, while education assumes a responsibility for making sure that knowledge sticks. Journalists who limit their role to news flashes are absolving themselves of any overarching obligation to the audience. In our new world, reporters must become more like teachers, and we all must learn the skills of the librarian.
Information management is the fuel for our thriving civilization.
Almost anybody can add information. The difficult question is how to reduce it. If we can't find a way, Noam warns, we may be setting ourselves on a road toward a chaos that not even scientists will enjoy observing. The organization of information, says Noam, is the one major counterforce to entropy. Not being able to effectively manage our information means that we may be beginning to lose control of information and finally succumbing to entropy.