I want to share a terrific book that I just read - "Killing Time" by Caleb =
Carr. I was surprised when I went to Amazon to discover that, although =
the review sources praised the books, most readers who submitted reviews =
did not like the book. It seemed that many people did not like it because =
it was quite different than Carr's other books. Others did not feel that =
it was good science fiction. Being neither a Caleb Carr reader nor a =
sci-fi fan, the facets of the books that troubled them were not a problem =
for me. =20
Th eBook is not really typical sci-fi. It is set in the very near future =
- 2017 - and deals with the changes in society brought on by the informatio=
n age. I kept checking the copyright date (c. 2000)=20
because I could not believe that it was written prior to 9-11. Although =
there is no 9-11 type event - everything else that has come to pass since =
then is in the book. War in Afghanistan, increased=20
surveillance and security measures, global decision making based on =
falsified reporting from both the media and intelligence agencies, the =
discovery of a fossil skeleton in Africa, unrest in Malaysia,=20
world-wide terrorism. You name a headline in the past 2 years - and it is =
in this book. But to me the most intriguing aspect of the book is its =
viewpoint on the effect of the information age on global events. =20
The viewpoint expressed in the book certainly has implications for our =
jobs as librarians, teaching our students how to evaluate the information =
they read on the net - or anywhere else for that matter. =20
Here are some interesting quotes:
"The human brain adores it [Information] - it plays with the bits of =
information it receives, arranging them and storing them like a delighted =
child. But it loathes examining them deeply, doing the hard work of =
assembling them into integrated systems of understanding. Yet that work =
is what produces knowledge... The rest is simply - recreation." (p.235)
Here are some lines taken from a section where the characters are talking =
about societal changes brought about by the internet:
"The flood gates were thrown open, and human society, already saturated =
with information, began to drown in it.... And the very nature of that =
technology means that there is no real knowledge anymore...because what =
those custodians do allow to slip through their deliver systems is utterly =
unregulated and unverifiable. Mistaken facts - or, worse yet, deceptions =
on a simple or a grand scale, supported by doctored evidence and digitally =
manipulated images - become commonly accepted wisdom before there's even =
been a chance to determine the validity of their bases. And remember that =
we've now raised not one but several generations of children who have been =
exposed only to that kind of questionable data" (p.62-63)
If you are a sci-fi fan or a Caleb Carr fan =96 this book might disappoint =
you. However, I was fascinated to think about the global ramifications of =
the evaluation and citation skills that I teach to my=20
high school students every day. I have always been convinced that the =
skills we teach are important. Now I see what I teach as literally a =
matter of =93survival=94.
I=92d love to hear from others who have read the book.
Jacquie
"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those that wander are lost"
J.R.R. Tolkien
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jacquie Henry, MLS
Ruben A. Cirillo High School (GHS)
Gananda Central School District
3195 Wiedrick Road
Walworth, NY 14568
jhenry@gananda.org
http://www.gananda.org/library/mshslibrary/indexgcl.htm
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