Media Ecology is a 30-40+ year old concept/discipline. High-profile researchers are
- Neil Postman: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=neil+postman+media+ecology&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart - Walter Ong: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.625.5142 - James Cary: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.625.5142 - Of course, to a slightly different vector and early to the game, Marshall McLuhan: https://www.google.com/search?=marshall+mcluhan&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS807US807&oq=marshal+mc&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5518j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 <https://www.google.com/search?q=marshall+mcluhan&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS807US807&oq=marshal+mc&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5518j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8> Tom ============================================ Tom Johnson - t...@jtjohnson.com Institute for Analytic Journalism -- Santa Fe, NM USA 505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h) *NM Foundation for Open Government* <http://nmfog.org> *Check out It's The People's Data <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-The-Peoples-Data/1599854626919671>* ============================================ On Tue, Nov 19, 2019 at 2:02 PM Steven A Smith <sasm...@swcp.com> wrote: > Glen - > > I chose not to respond specifically to the link/point you offered in my > last response because I felt this was a (useful) tangent and wanted to > address it more directly. > > I do appreciate the analogy drawn between our physical ecosystem and > what the author calls the Information ecosystem and that this threat may > well be existential. I also believe that such a collapse as is > suggested might be much more imminent than *other* existential threats. > I'm tempted to distinguish this "information ecosystem" from de > Chardin/Vernadsky's "Noosphere". > > It feels to be, by analogy, somewhat like the difference between talking > about the collapse of the biosphere *strictly* in terms of the > geochemical basis of it... while CO2 Absorption/acidity of the ocean is > the *basis* for the collapse of pterapod/shellfish/coral/etc. > populations/health and average temperatures, humidity levels and weather > patterns are the direct result of our heightened greenhouse gas > emissions, it may well be the collapse of the flora and fauna that > collapse in response which defines the sharpest end of the consequences > (to humans?). > > I wonder if perhaps the real crisis of our unhealthy/collapsing > information ecology is not *just* in the way information is generated, > flows, etc. but more acutely what might be doing to the individual and > collective "spirits" of humanity and a subsequent "collapse of > culture". It feels as if some involved in what has been referred to as > "the culture wars" may well be trying to engineer (or trigger tipping > points) such a collapse. > > If we contemplate the > noosphere/anfosphere/anthrosphere/biosphere/geosphere as a complex > adaptive system, then it is not surprising that there have been (and > will continue to be) patterns of "punctuated equilibrium". The > (imminent?) information ecosystem collapse described in this article may > well be in some sense inevitable but my own illusions around individual > (and by extension, collective) free will suggests that such a thing > might be avoidable. > > This Guardian Article reads *almost* like an infomercial for their own > product, however. My week in Austin included a visit with Mary's son > and D-in-Law. He works for the Texas State legislature editing bills > but has degrees in journalism and education, both fields he seems to > believe he came to too late to be able to participate in righteously. > His wife is an archivist for the Presbyterian University there (she is > not Presbyterian) and so has her *own* take on meaning, reality, and the > value of recording and archiving words both written and oral, formal and > informal for future reference. She is less pessimistic, but both > (early 40s) share a strong cynicism about the state of > information/truth/coherent-culture. > > - Steve > > On 11/19/19 9:24 AM, glen∈ℂ wrote: > > To contribute to my spam score, I'll try again to suss out what is > > meant by owning the means of production. Here it is again: > > > > The collapse of the information ecosystem poses profound risks for > > humanity > > > https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/19/the-collapse-of-the-information-ecosystem-poses-profound-risks-for-humanity > > > > > >> William Randolph Hearst owned the means of production and was free to > >> publish made up stories to sell papers and stoke the Spanish-American > >> war. Today, everyone is free to be their own propagandist. > > > > Is this a proper use of the concept of "ownership of the means of > > production"? I know I'm simple-minded. But while it's clear to me what > > it means to own, say, a screwdriver, it's not at all clear to me what > > it means to *own* the process/tools by which one produces propaganda. > > It reminds me of being "owned" (or "pwned") in some trashtalk context > > like before a boxing match or an argument on 4chan. It's a stretched, > > poetically licensed, sense of ownership and actually means domination > > or humiliation, not at all like owning a hammer or printing press. > > > > But this concept of pwning does seem closer to the sense I was getting > > from both Marcus' and Steve's explanations, that seemed to target > > exploitation, asymmetric power, or some sort of inappropriate hoarding > > or market monopoly. If so, I would maintain my skepticism that using > > the words "ownership" and "production" is *conflating* things that > > could be better analyzed in another way. I just don't know what way > > that is. > > > > But thanks to y'all for changing my mind. The phrase no longer > > irritates me now that I have a sense that those using it are simply > > trying to describe something they are ill-equipped to describe. > > > > > > ============================================================ > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > FRIAM-COMIC <http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/FRIAM-COMIC> > http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
