Thoughts on "Little Mirrors"

     In Hamlet's Blackberry, Powers brought forth a new perspective on silent reading in the "Little Mirrors" chapter (chapter 7). Until the Middle Ages, owning books was a luxury only the rich could provide.  Reading was essentially a communal activity. I was already aware of this, but what I didn't realize was that silent reading, was once thought of as unconventional and abnormal. When people began to read in private it was seen as "an inner journey, shared by no one else and not subject to outside influence or control."
     We live in a day and age where information is available to everyone regardless of race, class, etc. Today we are able to obtain free information almost anywhere we go, and in the time period that Powers describes in "Little Mirrors", the extensive allocation of information was feared.
     This segment of the book struck me because we have evolved so much from our apprehensive attitude. Before, people were scared of what could result from knowing too much, whereas now we want as much information as possible, as quickly as possible. The book got me to thinking: were our predecessors right to be fearful of an information overkill? Of course not. But I think there are definitely some negative aspects to having too much information. Lies and gossip get spread more quickly, and now we have to be able to determine what is true and what isn't. With the more knowledge and information we gain, we should also obtain more responsibility for the information we choose to disseminate and share amongst each other.