From weber to mandelbrot: Temporal rationalization and the fractal flattening effect

Abstract

In modern societies, technology rationalizes temporal rhythms and decomposes the temporal structure of social processes. Though efficient in the short-run, rationalized micromanagement techniques may lead to the destruction of information and be detrimental to the development of social cognition and historical perspective. Thus, accelerating information flows made possible by advanced technological systems may be linked to deceased informational quality. This article argues that the reduction in temporal complexity can be measured using techniques in fractal dimension analysis [1]. A comparative examination of New York Times' articles about events in World War II, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf War shows that the information contained in more recent articles has a lower fractal dimension than that of similar stories 50 years ago. The data suggest that our awareness of referential, historical types of information is diminishing because of the rationalization of information and the loss of temporal context.