Information Overload: A System for Better Managing Everyday Data

Chapter 4. WE PEOPLE

People are constantly seeking and using information as part of their daily lives. Information relating to work, leisure, health, money, family, and a host of other topics is sought from a huge range of sources. Our practice of searching out and organizing information goes far back in time.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) is perhaps the most famous artist of the Renaissance. He was also a very good observer who tried to explain everything that he saw around him. Fortunately for us, he did this by taking many notes, which included his famous sketches. By the end of his life, he had collected so many notes that he realized arrangement and classification were needed. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete this task.

Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798) is known as a famous womanizer. Not many people know, however, that Casanova was a first-rate information worker. During his life, he worked as a librarian and a spy, among other things. He was renowned for being a swindler, musician, writer, and intellectual. The combination of all those functions may perhaps seem strange, but was made possible by his good extended network. Of course, he used information on people, places, and events mainly for personal gain. Casanova had a gift for worming important information out of people. On his various travels, he came into contact with many different people. At a later stage in his life, he was often asked for advice on the design of libraries, chiefly for affluent citizens. Many top ...