Part 1: In your own words, describe early milestones in information storage and retrieval, beginning with the Greek alphabet and proceeding to the advent of Ted Nelson’s creation of the hypertext system.
Part 2: Explain Rawls’ theory of justice, including basic concepts of his thought experiment, and in particular the idea of one’s original position, the veil of ignorance, and the difference principle.
Part 3: Describe evidence that Internet addiction exists based on your personal experience followed by a summary of expert opinion offered in our text. In that context, discuss factors that contribute to Internet addiction.
Sample Answer
Part 1: Early Milestones in Information Storage and Retrieval
The journey of information storage and retrieval is a history of increasing abstraction, accessibility, and complexity, moving from physical inscription to digital linking.
The Greek Alphabet (c. 8th Century BCE): This was a foundational milestone because it provided the first fully phonetic writing system. Unlike earlier logographic or syllabic scripts (like Egyptian hieroglyphs or Mesopotamian cuneiform), the Greek alphabet represented individual sounds (phonemes). This made writing and reading dramatically easier to learn and use, democratizing literacy and allowing for faster, more accurate recording and retrieval of complex information (e.g., philosophical texts, laws).
The Library of Alexandria (c. 3rd Century BCE): This represented a milestone in large-scale organization and physical retrieval. It was an attempt to collect all human knowledge, necessitating the development of systematic cataloging and classification methods (like those devised by Callimachus), transforming raw information into an organized, retrievable collection.
The Codex (c. 1st–3rd Century CE): The shift from the papyrus scroll to the codex (pages bound together) was a revolutionary change in physical storage format. The codex was more compact, easier to transport, and, crucially, allowed for random access to information—you could flip immediately to a specific page—significantly speeding up retrieval compared to unrolling an entire scroll.
The Printing Press (Gutenberg, c. 1440 CE): The movable-type printing press standardized and mechanized the reproduction of text, leading to an explosion in information availability and a massive reduction in cost. This innovation drove the first information revolution, making knowledge accessible beyond the Church and the aristocracy and enabling widespread, consistent information retrieval.
The Card Catalog (c. 19th Century): Invented by library scientists like Anthony Panizzi and Melvil Dewey, the card catalog was the first effective random-access retrieval system for mass knowledge. It formalized standardized, indexed records (author, title, subject) of items in a collection, allowing a user to efficiently locate a single book within millions, long before computers existed.
Ted Nelson's Hypertext (c. 1960s): Nelson coined the terms "hypertext" and "hypermedia." His vision, famously embodied in Project Xanadu, was a radical departure from linear text. Hypertext proposed a system where any document could be non-sequentially linked to any other document, allowing readers to jump instantly between related ideas. This was the conceptual precursor to the World Wide Web, fundamentally changing the method of digital retrieval from searching a fixed index to following dynamic, nonlinear associations.