Claude Shannon, American mathematician, a stern but somewhat kind dark look in his eyes, defined information as the measure of novelty or surprise one can expect in a message – and with a couple of other deeper observations founded the entire field of information theory in the late 1940’s.
In everything we read and watch and listen to, some eighty years later, novelty is an ever-diminishing quantity. Scandals and catastrophes have become the truly information-rich genres of the day. Few other things really surprise us down the rabbit-holes of our bespoke algorithmic feeds – because they mostly confirm what we already want to believe. It’s more than a filter bubble, because it defines and distorts personal worldviews and global geopolitics alike.
When everything is possible and nothing is ever really true, what is the name of the informational paradigm we’re operating under? One where science, rumor, legend and fear contribute equally to the making of history. A dark and occult moment, defined by tribal beliefs, and the overwhelming ubiquitous influence of mysterious code.