June 8, 2014

Ellul on big data, circa 1965


 
It is a fact that excessive data do not enlighten the reader or the listener; they drown him. He cannot remember them all, or coordinate them, or understand them; if he does not want to risk losing his mind, he will merely draw a general picture from them. And the more facts supplied, the more simplistic the image.
Jacques Ellul, Propaganda, 1965






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