Trained in both classics and computer science, Bolter considers the
cultural impact of computers on our age, comparing the computer to
earlier technologies that redefined fundamental notions of time,
space, language, memory, and human creativity. Surprisingly, he
finds that in many ways the outlook of the computer age bears more
resemblance to that of the ancient world than to that of the
Enlightenment. The classical philosopher and the computer
programmer share share a suspicion of infinity, an acceptance of
necessary limitations on human achievement, and a belief that
results are more important than motives.
Although Bolter fears that the growing use of computers may well
diminish out culture's sense of the historical and intellectual
context of human endeavor, he contends that the computer also
offers new ways of looking at intellectual freedom, creativity, and
the conservation of precious resources.