Four Horseman of the Infopocalypse
Posted by erin at February 26, 2003 04:53 PMThe company I work for has the largest database of insurance information in the entire world. The company also keeps an enormous number of forms and documents in the dark heart of its databanks. Working here has taught me a word I wish I had never heard:
Metadata
Metadata is data about data. Most of my job is dealing with metadata and not actual data. This drives me to madness.
I learned a great word from Snow Crash, an otherwise dull book. That word describes the inner-working of my company:
Infopocalypse.
The way my company works is so complicated that it's hard to "see the forest for the trees." Although some people understand the overall functioning of the company, no one person can keep track of all the small details at one time. Communication breaks down, data is lost, and the whole office seems like an Infopocalypse at times.
I have identified the Four Horseman of the Infopocalypse:
1. Tyranny - Tyrants of information hold under lock, key, and password, data important to those who may need it. A high level of security does not equal a high level of knowledgeability.
2. Corruption - As data is transferred across mediums and platforms and versions, it becomes corrupt. Information is lost forever, beginning at the very beginning as scribes reek havoc with numbers. The earliest printers using presses corrupted information forever - we are no better as we adopt things for the internet.
3. Glossolalia - Languages change and divide over time. Terminology changes. It does not take a dialect to divide understanding, it only takes a little jargon for confusion to reign over all.
4. Chaos - The last and worse of all the horseman, chaos results in a permanent loss and scattering of information. Without a stable infrastructure, everything falls apart.
Comments Individual Archive Index
February 26, 2003 06:13 PM, John said:
I have spent a great deal of time arguing that Snow Crash is a GOOD book, but that obviously wasn't well used.
Still, this type of talk does sound similar to Cryptonomicon. Although I'm sure you'd hate that too. Due to people liking it.
February 26, 2003 06:40 PM, Erin said:
All my friends who hated Snow Crash loved Cryptonomicon.
So there.
February 26, 2003 10:18 PM, Maggie said:
I liked both. Does that make me confused?
February 27, 2003 12:02 AM, Eugene said:
Hmm... I had been avoiding reading Cryptonomicon because I didn't like Snow Crash, but if I don't like Snow Crash, I'll like Cryptonomicon? Lots of people said I would like Snow Crash too. Although, come to think of it, at least one friend who loved Snow Crash didn't think much of Cryptonomicon. We may be on to something.
I don't know what to think. Maybe I still won't read it because...it's too long. Yes, that's it.
February 27, 2003 03:14 AM, Halifax said:
Crytonomicon has:
1) Nazi gold
2) RPGs
3) leprosy
4) Enigma machines
5) a giant squidIf there had been a Siamese twin I would be convinced Stephenson had a checklist labeled things Halifax wanted me to put in this book.
February 27, 2003 11:09 AM, Erin said:
I haven't read Cryptomicron yet because I only know people who own it in hardcover - it is a very big book - so I haven't read it yet because it's too heavy.
You see, one needs a book that one can hold in one hand while standing up on the PATH train and gripping the hand-rails with the other hand.
Furthermore, John just likes Snowcrash because he suffers from the same problem as Hero Protagonist - both Hero and John think they're really cool and say so all the time ("I'm the coolest guy in the world!" both have uttered on many occasions). However, saying how cool you are makes you hopelessly uncool.
In order for Snow Crash to be good, I would have to believe Hero was cool. Hero isn't cool, therefore, Snow Crash was not good. John thinks Hero is cool, so the book was good for him.
So Eugene - it's a fun read, and pretty quick, but frustrating because it could have been a lot better. There's nothing worse than a bad book (or movie) with lots of potential.
February 27, 2003 11:11 AM, ET said:
Uhn, Erin, I dislike Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, so I'll never read an even longer book by Stephenson. But to preserve the integrity of your statement, you can just tell people that I'm not your friend anymore. Jerk.
February 27, 2003 12:33 PM, Maggie said:
Erin, you can get a copy of Cryptonomicon in mass market paperback format, just look here. Geesh.
February 27, 2003 02:59 PM, Erin said:
I was looking to borrow, not to buy.
Who buys books? Gah!
February 27, 2003 11:22 PM, thecomicman said:
i have it in trade format. once i read these ridiculous amounts of pages, i can let you borrow it.
February 28, 2003 01:19 AM, Maggie said:
I buy books. They're pretty. You can probably get a trade version of the book at the library though.
February 28, 2003 04:25 AM, Halifax said:
I'm the coolest guy in the world.
February 28, 2003 01:57 PM, John said:
No. I am.
Although, apparently, this makes me uncool.
But does the fact that I don't care me about that make me cool, once again?
February 28, 2003 08:28 PM, Eugene said:
I buy books too! Where do you think people like you borrow them from? The library? Ha, that would be funny.
I used to be very dependent on the library for free books, but then I got some semblance of an income, and I found that it is much more fun to own books. Then I can force them on people and say Here, you have to read this! If I just recommend a book, no one reads it, but if I hand it to them, they feel slightly more compelled to take a look at it. Same thing with videos...
If you give a man a fish, he'll eat it. If you teach a man to fish, he will pretend he doesn't know how to and get a free fish from the guy down the block.
March 2, 2003 01:11 AM, Erin said:
But then when you move you have to move all these books... and fish... both of which are heavy.
March 3, 2003 01:09 PM, Eugene said:
After moving the CUSFS library around *several* times, moving my own paltry collection is no problem! :)
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