“The
greatest curse brought down on us by technology is that it prevents us from
escaping the present even for a brief time. Previous generations could retreat
into solitude and seclusion when disaster struck; it was our fate to be aware
of everything catastrophic happening anywhere in the world at the hour and the
second when it happened.”— Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and
biographer Stefan Zweig (1881-1942), The World of Yesterday
(1942)
At least
one more curse might have been bestowed on humanity since Zweig’s observation:
We are not only made aware instantly of a catastrophe, but our understanding of
the event is likely to be misinformed through lack of historical perspective,
disinformation, or both.
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