Creation and the Information Revolution

Recently, I've been noticing two things. The first is the amount of time my classes are spending on the idea of the information revolution, and the internet in relation to government and public opinion. The second is an abundance of news stories about knitting and other crafts gaining in popularity.

Now at first glance, these two things don't seem to have a lot in common. But if you add a knitting political communications major with insomnia, you end up with..well, this blog entry.

The idea of the information revolution has been a common theme in my classes. The idea is that information is power, that we are moving towards a more global society. Some have compared it to the agricultural and industrial revolutions--a shift in culture, or a paradigm shift.

The thing about the information age, though, is the absence of concrete things. Not a total absence, of course, as we all have plenty of mateiral goods. But for many people, they deal primarily in intangible objects.

Think about it--you go to work, where you deal with computers and information, teleconferences and emails. You come home, surf the web and email or IM your friends. You watch the news online, read the newspaper there. At the end of the day, you have nothing to show for it--at least, nothing you can hold in your hands.

Which is where the knitting comes in. There has been a virtual explosion of knitters recently. Some are just trendy, and may disappear in time. But many won't. Sure, they aren't traditional knitters--my grandmother would never have imagined knitting a bikini. As for the edible thong knitted from licorice (no, I'm not kidding, www.knitty.com in the sumer issue), well, I don't think she would even have believed someone who said that. These are young knitters, professionals, students. People who you'd never dream you'd see holding a pair of needles.

So, why? Why are we, a technolically savvy, sophisticated generation, turning to a hobby that conjures up images of little old ladies stitching away on baby booties?

Because, in all of the abstract, intangible things we do, this is REAL.

Knitting is something you can hold in your hand, you can touch. The hours and hours I spent reformatting and editing articles at my job this summer aren't visible--sure, you can see the articles, but the origional, the proof of how much they changed, is long gone into the digital void. The sweater I made my Dad last Christmas, on the other hand, is there. You can look at it and know, really know, that in the beginning was just a giant hank of yarn.

There is great satisfaction in that, in seeing what you have created. Knitting also appeals for other reasons--it's ideal for multitasking (particularly for those of us who cannot stop fidgeting), it allows for creative expression, and you can actually do something with the finished project.

Technology is a wondeful thing. Knowledge is a wondeful thing. I would probably keel over without the internet. Yet, I still feel...hollow somehow. As if I have nothing to show for myself. Human nature includes the desire to leave something of yourself behind. Something more than a fading digital signature.

The impact of the information revolution on culture has yet to be determined. Perhaps we will all become disaffected. People who spend more and more time working, who spend less time with real people, who lead minimalist, stark lives. Able to live our lives with an immeasurably small amount of human contact.

Or perhaps we will see a renaissance of more traditional activities. Things that encourage creation, connection, things with tangible results. Of course, we will change these traditions--like living things, traditions must evolve if they are to survive. Maybe, though, those knitting needles won't seem so much like a symbol of archaic drudgery, but more like a vehicle for creative expression and accomplishment.

Who can say which way the pendulum will swing? Maybe it will head a different direction entirely. Personally, though--I'm kind of hoping for the second option.