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Author Jeff Stibel, who styles himself as a “brain scientist and entrepreneur” argues that there is actually a maximum capacity for the internet, which will either be harnessed for further productivity, or will collapse if left unchecked.
His book, sub-titled “Why the Web will Implode, Search will be Obsolete, and Everything Else you Need to Know about Technology is in Your Brain”, suggests that many of our technological networks are reaching break points, and shows how we can survive these break points to attain truly sustainable networks.
Stibel’s thesis is that the future of the internet will mirror the biological networks all around us – specifically, the network of the human brain. These natural networks all follow a similar path that occurs in three parts: a period of exponential growth, then a break point in which the network overgrows, followed by an equilibrium in which the network scales back in size and grows only in quality.
Carrying capacity is never infinite, so we will eventually hit a break point. But when that happens, the results will be exciting to see and will likely yield a smaller, yet more efficient, nimble, and hopefully more intelligent internet.
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