But although our infatuation with computers is essentially a quest to go faster, we're still challenged to find ways of identifying what information is essential. Consider a successful retailer, one that has traditionally relied on the expertise of its buyers to know what will sell. Then, as technology evolves, these people are provided with computer programs that shower them with all kinds of data. They learn how many purple widgets were sold in Boston on the third Tuesday of each month, or whenever there was a full moon. And, since everyone knows that numbers don't lie, they become a significant factor in purchasing decisions, overwhelming the judgment of those who include other factors in their decisions.
Sales start to tail off.
The company wonders what happened. Eventually, they come to understand that interpreting information is at least as important as accumulating it, and that numbers, while important, are only a part of the overall picture. Information overload isn't just a work phenomenon, either. We're also subjected to the deluge in our personal lives. But the issue isn't really speed, it's the amount of information.