Information is an evolving concept requiring us to reflect upon it’s very nature. In and of itself, it is simply a flow of ‘bits’, however as a whole, as humans we are able to apply meaning to the information. The idea of information as ‘bits’ quite reminded me of a visit to MONA in 2018, where my favourite exhibition was called Bit.Fall, where a wall of water spells out the most popular words searched on Google that day. Even without context, I found myself trying to attach meaning to the words. Why were those particular words being searched so frequently today?

Interestingly, it came to my mind that thinking of information in this way is a uniquely human experience. I was particularly thinking about linguistic and/or verbal information as it exists in the physical and digital landscape, as that type of information is referred to a lot in the material presented. As intelligent beings, we are able to synthesize information and use it to further our evolution. However, most animals with a level of intelligence are seemingly able to process the information in their environments to adapt, communicate and survive. Therefore, our ability to manipulate, understand and use information relates directly to how humans and other animals are able to advance and adapt in the world.

However, we are at a point where this progression has resulted in advances in technology. Such is the advancement that we are now saturated with information. In fact, the four inherent properties of information cited in the module (inconsumable, untransferable, indivisible and accumulative) mean that the information environment is overloaded. It is particularly important for consumers of information to be able to critically evaluate the authenticity of the information. In the age of information saturation, fake news, constant access to an ever-expanding landscape of ‘bits’ and ‘wholes’, the role of TL has never been more important. Teaching ourselves and young people how to research effectively, communicate, learn and use that information may well be a fantastic tool to apply in human advancement as we navigate through the ever-changing digital environment.