Chapter 3: When Information Goes Wrong — Witch Hunts, Bureaucracy, and Holy Books
The printing press didn't bring enlightenment — it brought witch hunts. Bureaucracy tries to sort the world into neat drawers but crushes what doesn't fit. Holy books claim infallibility and cannot self-correct. What happens when information systems fail.
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Gutenberg's invention promised enlightenment. Yet, its first widespread impact was spreading fear, fueling Europe's devastating witch hunts.
The 'Malleus Maleficarum,' a witch-hunting manual, spread by the thousands. Its insidious reach made the accused believe its delusions.
Bureaucracy, as information technology, organized empires by filing reality into neat conceptual drawers. But reality's complexity rarely fit.
Individuals are forced into categories that don't fit. Bureaucratic checkboxes simplify complex lives. The map replaces reality.
Holy texts, claiming divine perfection, become infallible systems. Unable to update or correct, errors become permanent. The system ossifies.
Each new information technology, from printing to bureaucracy, promises to bypass human judgment. Yet, new, fallible institutions always emerge. The cycle repeats.
Can an information system correct itself? Systems with built-in self-correction survive. Those claiming infallibility eventually collapse, causing catastrophe.
