The information superhighway: the golden spike of the 21st century

P. Pete Chong, Peter D. DeVries and Anne Van DenHoek

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2005, vol. 2, issue 3, 223-232

Abstract: The railroad played an important part in our history. It weakened aristocracy, changed geography and populations of cities, and led to an organised stock market. The modern world took shape in a shockingly short time: stock markets were formalised, time zones were created, trade multiplied and cities expanded. Railroads caused a sudden and marvellous change in perceptions of time and space. What was quick was now slow; what was distant was now near. Does this sound familiar? There are many striking similarities between the effects of the information superhighway and the effects of the railway system when it was implemented in the nineteenth century. This article investigates how the "new" system parallels the "old" - is the information superhighway a high tech "railroad"?

Keywords: information superhighway; internet; railroad; historical analogy; innovation; learning; railways; internet; world wide web; networking. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
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