1984 was off by about 17 years

[John Eric Tiessen]

Orson Wells was off by about 17 years when he wrote the book 1984, which described a future in which information  was constantly censored and history always being re-written to suit the image that the central government wanted. The problem is that that day is already here. We are living in an age where we spend a considerable amount of our time online in an environment that isolates us from information and perspectives that are threatening to our own! Case in point: Facebook!

The 'filter bubble'

Facebook actively screen's out information and political views on your news feed that go contrary to your political, religious and general way of thinking about the world.

Why is this concerning? There is no longer a generally accepted perspective on ANY issue! It is becoming impossible to have a generally recognized source of information and opinion! We are headed towards an age where it doesn't matter that you are quoting from a panel of scientists who have definitively proven that global warming is real. The group of conservatives across the table from you will just point to their lone scientist and claim that he's right and the other guys are wrong.

What can we do to avoid this fate? Should we even bother to try and stop this? Finally, what are going to be the long term consequences of this new way of looking at the world, through a metaphorical pinhole camera instead of the traditional wide-field lens?

[Ryan O'Toole]

When I think of "1984", I think of North Korea. Orwell was off, but the world of "1984" is not yet global.

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