I'd long classed Toeffler into the group of generally overhyped futurologists, and in particular found his endorsement by Gingrich anything but salutory.
And then I ran across a copy of FutureShock a few months back. I've only skimmed through it and read a few select passages, but what I saw impressed me. I've been doing a great deal of reading on the future and past, and in particular, on past predictions of the future. Many are silly, or specious, or profoundly wide of the mark. Toeffler managed to capture an intersection of technology and psychology in a way that few others had.
He wasn't chasing the starry-eyed dreams of Vannevar Bush and Arthur C. Clarke. He wasn't simply touting the business advantages of endless information. Among other things, Toeffler has one of the earlier discussions of information overload I've seen, one I found quite intelligent and discerning. I'm hoping to have time to go back and dig through his work for more, looking for both his accurate predictions and goofs.
And then I ran across a copy of FutureShock a few months back. I've only skimmed through it and read a few select passages, but what I saw impressed me. I've been doing a great deal of reading on the future and past, and in particular, on past predictions of the future. Many are silly, or specious, or profoundly wide of the mark. Toeffler managed to capture an intersection of technology and psychology in a way that few others had.
He wasn't chasing the starry-eyed dreams of Vannevar Bush and Arthur C. Clarke. He wasn't simply touting the business advantages of endless information. Among other things, Toeffler has one of the earlier discussions of information overload I've seen, one I found quite intelligent and discerning. I'm hoping to have time to go back and dig through his work for more, looking for both his accurate predictions and goofs.
But don't dismiss him out of hand.
That said: your skepticism is refreshing here.