The Importance Of The Information Age

Essay: The Code Book

Step back and view the world; it is clear that the information age is upon us. Information is available to the average person and it is available instantly. Computers and portable devices with “always on, instant access” are the norm. This has had an effect on the news industry; it has reshaped it. The public’s expectation of instant information has been formed. The “information age” is not confined within the boundaries of the United States. It is actually global. Since we as a global community now reside in the “information age” the following statement is deserving of attention: “It has been said that the First World War was the chemists’ war, because mustard gas and chlorine were employed for the first time, and that the Second World War was the physicists’ war, because the atom bomb was detonated. Similarly, it has been argued that the Third World War would be the mathematicians’ war, because mathematicians will have control over the next great weapon of war—information.” (Singh, xi) . Although the quote includes correct statements; the quote on a whole is not entirely true. All wars could be mathematician’s wars.
The above statement seems to have its

This information was utilized as a major part of the war efforts. It has been noted to be a tremendous contribution in defeating Germany. Historians have stated that it shortened the war effort by at least two years, some say by four years - a clear example of how mathematicians had control over information, and how it was utilized as a great weapon of war. The devastation which was brought on by the atomic explosion at Hiroshima in 1945 lends to the images which are forever ingrained in the public’s mind, deservedly so. Labeling this war the “physicists’ war” is not incorrect in that respect. However, information, and the obtaining of that information by mathematicians, was clearly a large part of World War