Comments on: Information sprinklers and information pumps.

By: Miz Liz

Miz Liz — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:55:27 +0000

Provocative post Tim!

As an avid reader,I am constantly amazed by the degree to which most people habitually dip their toes without fully submersing themselves.

As someone who focuses on the medical/health industry, I’m forced to delve deeply on a daily basis. It’s not only made me a better writer, but it’s also made me a better thinker. Moreover, this practice has enhanced my ability to see the larger picture when strategizing for business purposes.

I’m troubled that younger generations who grow up on the web may only learn how to dip and not how to get wet.

By: michael

michael — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:53:03 +0000

Great observation, Tim. I wonder how much the basic design of the Web helps or hinders this? Blogs are certainly there for those looking for more informatin, but the layout for most pages is geared towards quickly scanning and then moving on. Are we really encouraged to dig deeper on most sites?

By: Tim Walker, Sr.

Tim Walker, Sr. — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:10:34 +0000

Both of my careers (ministry and librarianship) have been information-focused. Both have revealed the tendency of many people to drift lightly over the available “truth” and choose the parts that are “comfortable.” Unfortunately, comfortable truth is not where hard reality is found. If a person is content with comfort rather than reality, he must also be content with ignorance. Thomas Gray penned the famous statement, “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” But, under what conditions can this be true? Utopia? Likely not even there. Instead, “knowledge is power.” We must drink from the pump to become powerful.

By: Stu Schaff

Stu Schaff — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:33:47 +0000

Great post, Tim.

I believe that at some point in the past few years, we became convinced of a need to know things first, before anybody else. In our information economy, people believe that constantly having their feelers out gives them a competitive advantage of some sort. However, thanks to technologies like Google’s search, we can dredge up all sorts of information on a topic, without having to constantly split our attention.

Until more people learn how to “use the pump, not the sprinkler”, we will continue to develop short attention spans and, unfortunately, perform short of our full potential.