Human evolution in space and time, with reference to the niches of librarianship and information processing

Abstract

Darwinian evolution of species entails competition for space and consequent evolution through geological time. Recent hu man activity shows that humans have themselves evolved a second form of evolution which is the converse of the Darwinian process: cultural evolution in space through competition for time. Fitness for this reverse-Darwinian evolution depends chiefly on advanced, high-speed information technology. The transition in biology founded on fixed species to that founded on changing ecological niches is reviewed. Dynamic niches, e.g. fast-flowing rivers, can support more species than correspond ing static niches. It is suggested that cerebral asymmetry, which is specifically human, represents a recent evolution of two cerebral centres for controlling high-level and competitively advantageous information processing, the spatial processing in the right side and, resulting from more marked evolution, the temporal processing in the left side of the brain. Within the library-information niche libraries show dominance of spatial adaptations while information processing shows dominance of temporal adaptations. Advantages of the latter, e.g. time-shared online access, are discussed alongside their side-effects. Infor mation technology (IT) is classified according to increasing temporal component, from high-density storage, through tele communication, to advanced space-independent systems for innovation in IT. The category with the highest temporal component is available only to the information-rich yet is the least taxed. Taxation of space according to its use has a long history of reform; fiscal reform in the social applications of new technologies is now advocated.