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Is the Internet Your Source of Knowledge?
serutan asks: "How much do you rely on the Internet for information? Since getting online 7 or 8 years ago, I have gradually abandoned almost all other sources of news and information, to the point where they've pretty much disappeared from my life. I'm a geek, but at age 49 not exactly a child of the Information Age. I've been surrounded by dictionaries, encyclopedias and similar books for most of my life. I still read fiction in book form, but if I'm trying to look up something and can't find it online in a couple minutes I generally just blow it off, as if there's no other place to look. This realization seems sort of stunning. I'm very curious if other Slashdot readers have become dependent on the Internet to that level, and what their thoughts are on the subject."
Pr0n! Like you I was surrounded by dead tree info but now my pr0n needs are delivered almost exclusively by the Internet. Seriously though you can definitely find stuff on the 'net that would be hard in a meatspace format especially fetish type stuff. Excellent news for small town folk who can't buy these things where they live. "The Internet's Hottest Nude Mujahudeen Amputees"? No problem.
But I'm always wrong.
"For a successful technology, honesty must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled." -Feynman
Google says: Your search - "is the internet my source of knowledge?" - did not match any documents.
I'm not even 20 yet, and we adopted the internet fairly early, so I've definitely grown up using it as an information source.
/. and Fark are where I get my information about the world. Because of this, I never hear information about local happenings, but I live in a pretty boring city, so it's all good. Well, at least I think it's a boring city.. I don't really know...
I was too young to be interested in watching the news or reading the paper when we got the internet, so when I finally became interested in news, the internet was right there.
News on TV, and in the paper especially, is just far too slow and outdated for me. Google News,
CC Licensed Serialized Story and Podcast: Ingenioustries
OK, what did I eat last night? After my visit to the facilities this morning, I'm really wondering.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Slashdot is my sole source of knowledge.
Probably only the /. editors amongst us...
This signature is intentionally left blank.
I often wonder how anybody did anything prior to the advent of "the source of all Truth and Knowledge."
They bought their porn at that seedy porn shop downtown.
Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel.
I don't like the "seediness" you mention... I mean, I'm a regular guy, not some prevert. I just like a little latex, and livestock from time to time.
I much prefer the current porn delivery method. ;)
For those that would die defending it, Freedom
has a sweet taste that the protected will never know.
That's really funny... around my house we had an old internet/mp3/divx machine in our living room and it got to the point where we started calling the Internet "God"... sitting around, arguing about some piece of trivia... "Just ask God!"
Wah!
Around my house we don't call it "the Internet" anymore. We refer to it as "the source of all Truth and Knowledge."
Interesting - we are your neighbors and refer to your house as "the Dwelling of Eternal Dorkitude".
Google's almost like an encyclopedia to a library of encyclopedias.
The nerd in me wants to call that a metaclopedia.
I recall a time a friend was going to come visit me. I spoke to him on the phone, and started to give him directions from the main highway. It went thusly:
....
Me: Ok, take the HWY eastbound until you cross the toll bridge, then take the first exit and...
Him: No I looked it up on MapQuest.
Me: MapQuest has our area all screwed up, just write this down, take the first exit, go straight, take the second right and...
Him: nah, I already printed the maps out on mapquest
So, the day comes when he's coming over. I get a call..
Him: Hey, I can't find your house.
Me: Where are you?
Him: I'm at a WalMart
Me: WalMart? What city are you in?
Him: [name of city and closest street sign]
Me: Dude, you passed my street about 75 miles ago. Turn around, go back, take the last exit before the bridge and..
Him: No, that's wrong, MapQuest says..
Me: I FUCKING KNOW WHERE I LIVE!
Him: But but mapquest!
Though, as long as you stick to the more travelled areas, and get directions to businesses, MapQuest more or less comes through. It's just the rural and residential streets it sucks at...
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Newspaper is much better. You can use it as TP if you forgot to check the roll before sitting down. It doesn't matter if you drop it or it gets dirty. And if you're lucky there may even be some soft pr0n in the lingerie ads.
...until Slashdot can be accessed some other way.
"I'm very curious if other Slashdot readers have become dependent on the Internet to that level, and what their thoughts are on the subject."
That's like asking a zookeeper if he likes animals. Or like asking a prostitute if they like money and sex.
Hypocrisy is the 8th deadly sin.
Next time you watch CNN - check out their commercials which state: "CNN, Voted Americas Most Trusted News Source" or something to that effect.
Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
I used to go to the library once in a while, or ask people questions. But mostly, I just didn't have as much information. And it didn't seem to matter. I had a wider range of activities and I spent my spare time differently
1989: Cooked dinner for friends; read books, watched TV (gasp!); got married; chatted on ddials.
1993: Took road trips to insignificant historical sites; built a garden; redecorated the apartment; made felt; fenced a farm; chatted on IRC.
1998: Moved to Singapore; explored and travelled on weekends; wrote a play; took hundreds of rolls of film; started a mailing list and updated my website regularly.
2003: Same as you--get up, check e-mail, IRC, read websites, do some work, Google a lot of stuff, blog, send some e-mail, IRC, eat dinner, more Google, watch a DVD, IMDB, check e-mail, sleep.