Product Description

A follow up to the first edition, Information Anxiety 2 teaches critical lessons for functioning in today's Information Age. In this new book, Wurman examines how the Internet, desktop computing, and advances in digital technology have not simply enhanced access to information, but in fact have changed the way we live and work. In examining the sources of information anxiety, Wurman takes an in-depth look at how technological advances can hinder understanding and influence how business is conducted.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #483985 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 350 pages

From Amazon.co.uk
Information might want to be free, but why should we free it? We've got enough troubles keeping track of all the petabits running around untethered already, and we risk a computer counterrevolution if we let the situation get much crazier. Information architect Richard Saul Wurman swept the field clear in 1989 with his groundbreaking book foreseeing the problems of data clutter and proposing a radical new means of organising and presenting knowledge humanistically; he has substantially revised it for the new century as Information Anxiety 2.

This volume is sparklingly clear and readable and offers insight not only to designers, educators and content developers, but also to anyone who needs to communicate effectively through dense clouds of facts. If Wurman occasionally indulges in new-agey pop psychology, his analysis is never muddy and the more hard-headed reader will forgive him soon enough. The discussion alternates between describing the deeply stressful task of absorbing poorly organised data and exploring solutions that require a bit of rethinking but reward such an investment with improved understanding and, maybe, a state change from information to wisdom. We could do worse, and if we don't pay attention to Wurman and his colleagues, we almost certainly will. --Rob Lightner

From Publishers Weekly
Wurman identifies a special ailment of this age of communicationsso-called "information anxiety," caused, in his view, by an overwhelming flood of data, much of it from computers and much of it unintelligible. The author, a graphic artist and architect, argues that "learning is remembering what you are interested in," and proposes to help the anxious individual to select personally relevant information from the body of raw data or "non-information." He also demonstrates how to "access" resources and take advantage of experiences, suggesting specific information-processing skills and media habits. His breezy, colloquial style using short, headlined paragraphs is sprinkled with graphics and notes, imaginative quotes and anecdotes. This stimulating book is worth reading in or out of sequence if only for Wurman's views on education and the need to "transform information into structured knowledge." Author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ingram
Information Anxiety offers a cure for the uneasiness most people feel daily as they're overwhelmed with facts and data pretending to be useful information. With simple, creative guidance, this book teaches readers how to learn what they want to learn from the media and other communication sources.