[gordonc]

Oddly enough, the more I read the more I become convinced that this may actually not be the case. Technology and our ability to effectively process information is growing at an exponential rate – of course, so is the amount of information.

But logically, there will be a point in the future where the output of humanity in an hour will be greater than the sum total of all human knowledge prior to 2012. Some fans of the Mayan calendar say this date is December 21st, 2012. Kurzweil says more like 2045. Really hard to say, IMO. But still, if we have the power to create that kind of information then we'll have to be able to take in a lot more, so I'm not too worried about missing everything. I'm just concerned about the information pertinent to my health, career, and loved ones, which is quite readily available thanks to sites like this.

[billybob]

"...there will be a point in the future where the output of humanity in an hour will be greater than the sum total of all human knowledge prior to 2012"

How much of that output is celebrity gossip and tweets about coffee and coverage of gadgets that will soon be forgotten?

I'd say much of the "increase" is just us putting into writing the kind of daily chatter that ancient people didn't bother to write down. It just increases the noise-to-signal ratio for future historians.

[nickpinkston]

Certainly you must be right that noise is increasing faster than signal, but signal is still growing massively if you look at research being done, etc.

Also, not to be ignored, as stated, is our ability to find knowledge is making the filtering process far better than before.

Sure, an ancient library didn't contain a lot of celebrity gossip, but good luck finding what you need amongst the available works - sans anything but the librarian's best remembrance of what a book contains and its value.