information age - Arnes

INFORMATION AGE
Today we live in what is commonly called the Information Age. This is the
age of computers, email, cellular phones, and satellite TV. As a result of
these new technologies most of us are constantly being bombarded with
information and advertising in huge quantities. The act of personally
sorting out and processing this onslaught of information is daunting and
disturbing. To solve the problem of information overload we must do what
humans have done in the past when facing a new challenge. We need to change
our lifestyle and mode of thinking. For a quick historical perspective let's look at some recent 'ages' that
people had to go through. In the early 1800's most people were farmers and
used livestock for their power and transportation. This pre-industrial age
required its own set of know-how to maintain the animals and operate the
farm. Today most of that knowledge is forgotten. During the late 1800's and
early 1900's we entered the Industrial Age of automobiles and electricity.
In the Industrial Age people's lives were ruled by machines they built and
had to maintain, so knowledge of machines was required. Beginning in the
mid 1900's and early 2000's machines began to be built and run by computers
so knowledge of machine operation was no longer needed. This is Computer
Age or Information Age where we are now. Computers run most of the machines
for us and even the farms are becoming almost totally automated. In this
information age many people have been relegated to the job of information
processors. If we look at our information age objectively we see billions of people
driving gas guzzling cars to work everyday. They park their cars at office
buildings in congested metropolitan areas. They enter these box-like
buildings to do mostly just one thing, process information. After leaving
'work' they drive home again only to be deluged by more commercial
information from their TV's and computers. In the information age, people
are simply information processors and that's what they do almost all day
long. Now obviously this act of driving to and from work everyday is a waste of
time and energy. With all these computers and telecommunications around why
do we still need to use humans as information processors? And why do we
need to transport them to and from an office to do their information
processing job? The new age will no longer require office buildings and their associated
travel to work. People will no longer need to be 'information processors'
and instead become citizens of a global true knowledge network. The transition beyond the information age will be easy for most but
difficult for many. Old ways will need to be forgotten and new skills
acquired. People will need to learn a lot more about how the human mind
works including the real meaning of life. The main goal should be to build a tool to free people from the job of
information processing so we can eliminate office buildings and the
associated wasteful to drive to work. These changes will save our planet
and lead us beyond the information age to an age of true knowledge and
precise understanding. Adapted form http://www.vias.org/beyinfoage/beyinfoage_03.html 1. Mark the following statements as True or False. 1. Today the information overload prevents people from being relaxed.
2. In the past different types of knowledge were required.
3. In the information age people act as information processors who have
to commute every day.
4. Office buildings and travelling to work will still be necessary in the
new age.
5. The true knowledge network can be acquired only in the new age.
2. Match the terms in column A with the terms in column B. |A |B |
|precise |knowledge of how to do something |
|cellular phone |an electronic device designed to |
| |accept data, perform prescribed |
| |mathematical and logical operations|
| |at high speed, and display the |
| |results of these operations |
|know-how |remove or get rid of |
|eliminate |wireless telephone that operates |
| |over a relatively large area |
|processor |interrupt the quiet, rest, peace; |
| |to trouble |
|disturb |clearly expressed; definite |
3. Complete the table. |NOUN |VERB |ADJECTIVE |
|knowledge | | |
| | |precise |
| |inform | |
| | |true |
|person | | |
| |think | |
|electricity | | |
| |require | |
| | |congested |
|meaning | | |
| | |simple |
| |maintain | |
Complete the sentences by using some of the new words. 1. The advantage of the idea was its s................................. .
2. Who's responsible for the m................................ and care of
the buildings?
3. He k.............................. what I meant last night.
4. We are sure the applicant meets all our entrance
r................................ .
5. I liked the discussion as it was deep and
m.................................
INTRODUCING, SPELLING, ABBREVIATIONS I. INTRODUCING 1. What do YOU do at work? Work with a partner.
Introduce yourself to him and then ask / answer questions about his / your
job.
What do you do? Do you travel a lot? Do you use a computer? Do you work
long hours? Do you need to wear special clothing? Do you work outside? Do
you meet a lot of different people? Do you need qualifications to do your
job? Do you make a lot of money? Do you like your job? 2. What does your friend / wife do?
3. Read about these jobs. Are any similar to yours? |SOFTWARE ENGINEER |QUALITY CONTROLLER |
|works for a bank |works for a chemical company |
|writes, tests, and debugs code |collects and examines product |
|updates security features and |samples |
|troubleshoots |analyses data and writes reports |
|is responsible for a project team |works night shifts | Glossary:
debug (v.) - to detect, locate, and correct logical or syntactical errors
in a program or malfunctions in hardware. In hardware contexts, the term
troubleshoot is the term more often used, especially when the problem is a
major one.
debugger (n.) - a program designed to aid in debugging another program by
allowing the programmer to step through the program, examine the data, and
monitor conditions such as the values of variables. bug (n.) - 1. an error in coding or logic that causes a program to
malfunction or to produce incorrect results. Minor bugs, such as a cursor
that does not behave as expected, can be inconvenient or frustrating, but
do not damage information. More severe bugs can require the user to restart
the program or the computer, losing whatever previous work had not been
saved. Worse yet are bugs that damage saved data without alerting the user.
All such errors must be found and corrected by the process known as
debugging. Because of the potential risk to important data, commercial
application programs are tested and debugged as completely as possible
before release. After the program becomes available, further minor bugs are
corrected in the next update. A more severe bug can sometimes be fixed with
a piece of software called a patch, which circumvents the problem or in
some other way alleviates its effects. 2. a recurring physical problem that
prevents a system or set of components from working together properly.
update (v.) - put in the latest information
troubleshoot (v.) - find and correct faults and problems
sample (n.) - specimen, small quantities of a product that show what the
rest is like
analyse (v.) - examine sth carefully to understand and explain it
shifts (n.) - parts of the working day
II. SPELLING THINGS OUT 1. Can you spell your name to your partner? Can you spell your email
address?
2. Can you spell this email address aloud?
m_barley@zqr.com
m underscore barley at zqr dot com 3. Label the parts of the email and website addresses with words from the
list:
|hyphen dot underscore colon|
|at slash | john-22@guest.arnes.si http://www.tsckr.si/ 4. Work with a partner and act out some calls. |A |B |
|You are trying to email a |Here's the email address of your |
|supplier's sales office at: |sales office: |
|sales_11@telecom.net. Your messages|sales-11@telecom.net. |
|are being returned.