Book Review

Being Digital

Silicon Snake Oil: Second thoughts on the information highway

N Engl J Med 1995; 333:1014October 12, 1995

Article

Being Digital
By Nicholas A. Negroponte. 243 pp. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. $22.50. ISBN: 0-679-43919-6

Silicon Snake Oil: Second thoughts on the information highway
By Clifford Stoll. 245 pp. New York, Doubleday, 1995. $22. ISBN: 0-385-41993-7

You've heard about the information superhighway? The Internet? You've heard the terms “bits,” “pixels,” “bandwidth,” “fiber optics,” and “virtual reality”? Are you dismayed that you know little or nothing about all this new stuff? Take comfort: you are not alone. Despite the efforts of some medical organizations to educate their members, the information revolution seems to have bypassed many physicians. If you are interested in catching up, familiarizing yourself with the concepts, and understanding some of the pitfalls of the information revolution, here are two books by legendary figures in the field that will do the trick. The books are not very technical, are easy to comprehend, and are fun to read.

Negroponte explains in simple terms the elements of digitized information, how the information is compressed and transmitted on the Internet, and how “the Net” is organized. He rhapsodizes on a future in which virtual reality, simplified interactions with computers, and “agents” (computer programs that “know” our personal needs and preferences for information) will enhance our experience, increase our efficiency, and gather tailored information for us effortlessly and seamlessly.

Despite his tendency to explore what will be or, rather, what might be, Negroponte dishes up plenty of caveats. He points out, for example, that if the marketplace of the information industry is to be the information superhighway, communication with computers will have to be much simpler than it is now. And he acknowledges that not everything is rosy as we move toward an electronic era. He predicts that digital vandalism, software piracy, data thievery, and loss of jobs are among the serious hazards along the way. Negroponte, an international consultant on the organization and use of information, is the founder of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His book is a collection of articles published previously in Wired magazine.

Clifford Stoll gained fame when he tracked down hackers who had broken into computers in the United States and sold the information to the KGB. Stoll is something of a turncoat. One of the early users of the Arpanet (the electronic medium designed to keep communications open in the event of nuclear war, and the precursor of the Internet), Stoll now looks skeptically at the benefits of electronic communication and focuses on many of its problems. His orientation is the same as Negroponte's. Both extrapolate from their current use of and experience with the Internet, but they come to many different conclusions. Stoll still spends many hours on the Net in electronic conversations, reading news, and transferring files from his own computer, but his recognition that little of the information he gets is useful led him to write this book.

In a loose, repetitive style sprinkled with anecdotes, Stoll strikes a few important themes. One that I find difficult to deny is that virtual reality, no matter how perfect, is no substitute for experiences in the real world. Another is that computer-based communication is far inferior to person-to-person glances, grimaces, and even grunts. (Anyone who has watched a pianist in a good jazz group pass signals to the trumpet player will recognize this truth immediately.) A third is that — at present — getting information from the Internet is often more trouble than it is worth. Stoll complains about the sluggish transmission of information, spotty delivery of electronic mail, invasion of privacy, difficulty finding and identifying valuable information, time wasted in figuring out why some program doesn't work properly (or at all), and the poor quality of human–computer interfaces. And he rails against computer games, the diversion of valuable funds by schools and libraries into trendy computers, and the exaggerated predictions of politicians, the press, and computer scientists, including the notion of an “intelligent agent.” I think it is worth listening to this thoughtful convert and critic.

Like food, exercise, and alcohol, the Internet is probably best used in moderation. I believe that physicians should be familiar with electronic communication and data retrieval. The balance of views provided by these two books should help them decide at how many of these bits they should bite.

Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D.