We’re living in an interesting world. We’ve got so much information at our fingertips that unless you’re fixated on the television or computer, the rest of the world could seemingly pass you by in a matter of seconds.

But is this a good thing?

While we are bombarded with information 24/7, we can only process so much of it in any given amount of time. And then act on that little tidbit of information? Forget it, you’re too busy taking in more…

Kevin Kelly wrote a good post about the steady increase in information.  The number of emails, telephone conversations, photographs taken… they’ve all increased exponentially over time.  One person could argue that our increase in productivity is a result of this fact, but another could argue that our productivity is the cause.

The weakest link in the chain is the speed at which we as humans process information.  At some point, we will be presented with so much information that the majority of our time will be spent determining what information is garbage and which is relevant and useful.  As a result, our productivity rates will surely suffer.

Those questioning this notion need only look to the television and the internet.  Through these two mediums, we are presented with so much raw data that we can’t possibly process it all.

The hurricanes in the Gulf last year are a prime example.  Through the power of the television, viewers in far off parts of the country knew when and where the hurricane would strike. Updates came in by the minute as to the direction and strength of Hurricane Katrina, and if you wanted a live ride through the eye of the storm, you need only turn to the internet.

Hours after mother nature unleashed destruction on New Orleans, we wondered what had already been done to fix the problem.  Television shots of submerged busses infuriated viewers (with the help of subtle suggestion from your cheery news anchor) as to why they hadn’t been used to evacuate those who hadn’t yet left the scene.

However, if you’d take the time to comprehend the information you’d been presented, you would pose the question: Who in their right mind would volunteer to leave their own families behind to drive these busses?  Our basic human nature (to look after ourselves) suggests that it is not a valid solution to a deceptively simple problem.

My guess is that at some point in the future, the amount of information we are subject to will start to plateau from normally exponential growth.  The laws of supply and demand will dictate that we can not take in any more information and still remain increasingly productive.  We will spend all our time deciphering the relevance of information, and which sources are the most useful.

Then again, there are those of us who will just turn the TV off.

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