Nunberg on "Culturomics"

[Joseph Esposito <espositoj@gmail.com>]

In case anyone missed Geoffrey Nunberg's piece on the Google 
data-mining project and the new science of "culturomics," here is 
the link to the Chronicle article:

http://bit.ly/eIyujP

Like all of Nunberg's work, this piece is intelligent, 
reflective, well researched, and beautifully written, and it also 
carefully marks the boundaries of its own exploration, noting the 
wilderness beyond where the researcher has not tread.  Still and 
all, I can't help but feel that Nunberg is what I call a 
"cumulativist," someone who believes the future builds linearly 
on what has come before, like a snowball rolling down a hill, 
picking up more and more mass until it emerges as a huge object 
to occupy our attention tomorrow.  Maybe so, but living as I do 
in the Silicon Valley area, where even baristas and accountants 
talk about seeking disruptive change, I wonder if Google is not 
taking a torch to Nunberg's snowball.  The method?  Preserve all 
the past, all of it--and that will teach you one fine lesson.

Joe Esposito