#dConstruct - Books, Stories and other Myths
[](http://www.onemanandhisblog.com/archives/assets_c/2011/09/dconstruct-2038.html)
Some sessions pretty much defy blogging. [Craig Mod](http://craigmod.com/ "Craig Mod")‘s session, notionally on the future of the book, was one of those.
There was some interesting discussion about taming unfiltered data. Most people aren’t mad enough to try and read their whole Twitter stream. Many companies are trying to figure out how to extract useful things from the whole steam. And you can see how the idea of a book – as a contained, discrete portion of information might play into that idea.
He also talked about the challenge of producing quiet data. The Kindle blends in when placed on a table, while the iPad shouts for attention. Sometimes quieter is more productive.
Perspective – a PhD is just a tiny nipple outside the boundaries of our human knowledge of the universe. Startups are just the same, a small new thing in this whole ecosystem.
And then: a long piece of mythology about the past, present and mythology of the book. Was it a pretentious waste of time, as many of the peanut gallery on Twitter seemed to think? Or “awesome” and full of insight as others suggested? Honestly, I have no idea. I want this talk as a podcast so I can listen to it again at my own pace…
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