Information has a Velocity

I adore learning about cause and effect, especially when it is the interplay of different domains. In high school I got to see this in Human Geography; I got another round of this in a History of Urban Development course in college. How scientific and socioeconomic factors shape the design of civilization - how the constructed world around us tells the story of its past. When it comes to problem solving I prefer the stereotypical oversimplified STEM systems with spherical cows and perfect conservation, but on a practical scale the world around us defies those approximations. So when I hear a STEM concept I am familiar with pop up in a wider context Hearing about the social/cultural capital models in Education while getting a degree in Economics was a delight!, it draws my attention.

Vectors are values that have both direction and magnitude, like an arrow. They are vital in Physics for describing motion and any other mathematical concept that takes place in more than 1 dimension. Velocity is a vector, it tells how fast an object is changing its position and the direction it is headed in. It was a delight when I learned that vectors also have a significant presence in explaning history, especially in the context of the transfer of information and disease!.

The internet spoils us, but for most of human history the action of transmitting information took a measurable amount of time The British didn't know about July 4th until August!. Access to information, its direction, has also never been a guarantee. You can't check traffic on a map, nor can you have printed out directions adapt to a road closure.

I am especially intrigued by how this change in information's velocity Acceleration, by definition. has reshaped social dynamics, especially in the context of my classroom. Social media was only starting to reach high school when I was a student; I made a Facebook account in 10th grade and we mostly used it to complain about homework and poke each other. By college it was a great utility to manage events and organizations. Once I was a teacher it led to fights and drama and social upheaval.