‘Good decision making is the core skill of the digital age, because the digital world allows people to gather information on an unprecedented scale’

Technology blogger Nick Harkaway in the Browser’s Five Books Interview earlier this year. Some of the most cogent and constructive words I have heard on technology, its effect on us and our likely responses.

Some of his points are the kind of thing I was driving at recently about thinking about technology and its application and if not getting ahead of anything, at least clearing some space in our minds to think about it.

The problems facing the maritime industry can pretty much be summed up in the sentence below though I’m pretty sure he wasn’t thinking about shipping.

“In a way we are still dealing with the implications of the industrial revolution. And it’s worth bearing in mind that we are not sitting on a platform of reasonable, effective government, positive financial control over the vagaries of the market or indeed a perfect relationship with our planet’s environment. The challenges we face are, as always, not technological but whether we as a society are capable of making the right decisions. You have to think about digital as part of the rest of the world.”

Some interesting related articles too but the main piece, including his recommended reading is plenty to be going on with. Read the full piece here.