You Are Not a Gadget: The Musical Side of the Puzzle

Jaron Lanier, who coined the term “virtual reality,” will discuss his new book titled, You Are Not A Gadget. Attached and below is some information. He will be speaking at Rollins College as part of the Winter Park Institute on Thursday, April 22 at 7 p.m.

Lanier is highly critical of Web 2.0, asserting that the digital hive is growing at the expense of individuality and creativity. He says that one of the downfalls of collective Internet culture is that we rely too much on groupthink. He warns that our financial markets and sites like Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter are elevating the “wisdom” of mobs and computer algorithms over the intelligence and judgment of individuals.

The New York Times has written pieces on him and he has written lots of op-ed pieces criticizing the “free” aspect of Internet content, which he says ultimately hurts creativity: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/science/12tier.html?scp=1&sq=jaron%20lanie

He is also a founding contributing editor of Wired magazine.

When: Thursday, Apr. 22 at 7 p.m.
Where: Tiedtke Concert Hall, Rollins College

This event is free and open to the public. Visitor parking is available in the SunTrust Plaza Parking Garage.