Clay Shirky introduces the term “cognitive surplus” in his remarkable talk at the Web 2.0 conference last year in New York. He claims gin (alcohol) was the coping mechanism to sooth the pain of urbanization and dislocations of the industrial revolution. He then jumps to the era of sitcoms to manage the “cognitive surplus” of time in the 50s and describes new participatory paradigm. One of the best 15 min lectures ever.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Blip.tv video.(via gapingvoid: Dreck Intolerance) Shirky’s own recap: Gin, Television, and Social Surplus.
Further Reading:
Douglas Rushkoff on Corporate History since Renaissance
Referencing Shirky and Keen
Top 5 Reasons Your Friend is Very, Very Old
