This extract is directed at ‘computing culture’ (not quite as lazy a target as it might sound, though still far from unproblematic) rather than big data. Nonetheless, it struck me that it might better be aimed at some of the more extreme examples of big data hype:
Computing culture is also, by definition, barbaric. The essence of barbarism is the reduction of culture to a simple, driving force that will tolerate no diversion or competition. The way the computer is designed, the manner in which it is programmed and the way it has evolved represent a powerful, reductionist force. It constitutes not reason contemplating its complexity, but reason reducing itself to its simplest expression and justifying itself through practical achievement.
George Friedman, The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century, Pg 63
