Christopher X J. Jensen
Associate Professor, Pratt Institute

Do we need to delete to keep the web sustainable?

Posted 05 Feb 2014 / 2

WNYC New Tech CityThe World Would be a Better Place if We [DELETED] More

The title of this piece is a bit misleading, because on the cognitive side it is really unclear to me that forcing ourselves to memorize things would make our lives better (those who know me know that I am “anti-memorization”, perhaps in part because I am not so good at memorizing things).

But what I am more interested in has to do with the sustainability of the web itself. For all its promise to reduce the costs of transporting ourselves and our information in the analog world, the web still is a technology based on consumption of electricity. The critical question is “how much electricity?”, and perhaps “where does that electricity come from?”. These are questions implied but not answered by this piece.

A Minor Post, Cognitive Ability, Ecological Footprinting, Neuroscience, Quantitative Analysis, Radio & Podcasts, Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Web Design, Web Design

2 Comments to "Do we need to delete to keep the web sustainable?"

Ben Knight 6th February 2014 at 9:04 am

This could be a key indicator for why the “Minimalist” Art movement happened.

Chris Jensen 6th February 2014 at 9:24 am

Were the minimalists thinking about lowering the impact of art on the natural world?

We will all become minimalists if we continue to degrade the natural systems upon which we rely!

Leave a Reply