What's The Point?

As information and communication technologies (ICTs) become more important to our lives, many societies now live in a "hyperhistory." Hyperhistory is the next stage of history where people aren't just using technology to augment their lives, but living lifestyles that are wholly dependent on ICTs. This theory defines the world we're headed toward - the world that current students will operate and lead in the future.


PDF link to published article.


Bullet Summary

Seems structuralist → the structure of ICTs is impacting our philosophy as humans.

Notable Quotes

"We are reminded of such deep technological debt when we divide human life into prehistory and history." (51)

"Prehistory and history work like adverbs: they tell us how people live, not when or where." (51)

"Human evolution may be visualised as a three-stage rocket: in prehistory, there are no ICTs; in history, there are ICTs, they record and transmit data, but human societies depend mainly on other kinds of technologies concerning primary resources and energy; in hyperhistory, there are ICTs, they record, transmit and, above all, process data, increasingly autonomously, and human societies become vitally dependent on them and on information as a fundamental resource." (52)

"I described this state in terms of 'building the raft while swimming,' hacking Neurath’s famous analogy. We are finding our new balance by shaping and adapting to hyperhistorical conditions that have not yet sedimented into a mature age." (53-54)