“Did Iraq invade Kuwait because of a lack of information? If a hideous war should ensue between Iraq and the U. S., will it happen because of a lack of information? If children die of starvation in Ethiopia, does it occur because of a lack of information? …If you and your spouse are unhappy together, and end your marriage in divorce, will it happen because of a lack of information? If your children misbehave and bring shame to your family, does it happen because of a lack of information? If someone in your family has a mental breakdown, will it happen because of a lack of information?”

— Neil Postman

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (1985)

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Neil Postman 106

American writer and academic 1931–2003

Charles E. Gannon (1960) American novelist

Source: Trial by Fire (2014), Chapter 25 (p. 364)

“Acceptance is appreciation, and the high value of appreciation is such that to appreciate appreciation seems to be the fundamental prerequisite for survival. Mankind will not die for lack of information; it may perish for lack of appreciation.”

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) Polish-American Conservative Judaism Rabbi

Source: Who Is Man? (1965), Ch. 5

“You do not see the river of mourning because it lacks one tear of your own.”

Antonio Porchia (1885–1968) Italian Argentinian poet

No vez el río de llanto porque la falta una lágrima tuya.
Voces (1943)

“Opinion is usually something which people have when they lack comprehensive information.”

Idries Shah book Reflections

Source: Reflections

“The retrieval process begins when a lack of information shows itself in a human mind and the decision is taken to ﬁnd out if this information has been discovered and published”

Douglas John Foskett (1918–2004)

Source: Classification and indexing in the social sciences (1963), p. 86; As cited in: Mei Hong (2006, p. 44)

“I do not deny that most managers lack a good deal of information that they should have, but I do deny that this is the most important informational deficiency from which they suffer. It seems to me that they suffer more from an overabundance of irrelevant information.”

Russell L. Ackoff (1919–2009) Scientist

Source: 1960s, Management misinformation systems, 1967, p. 147.

“Romania is dying because of a lack of men, not a lack of programs.”

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899–1938) Romanian politician

For My Legionaries: The Iron Guard (1936), Politics

“If, however, the information was ignored because it did not fit certain preconceptions about Iraq, then a legitimate argument can be made that we went to war under false pretenses.”

Joseph C. Wilson (1949–2019) American ambassador

What I Didn't Find in Africa (2003)
Context: Those are the facts surrounding my efforts. The vice president's office asked a serious question. I was asked to help formulate the answer. I did so, and I have every confidence that the answer I provided was circulated to the appropriate officials within our government.
The question now is how that answer was or was not used by our political leadership. If my information was deemed inaccurate, I understand (though I would be very interested to know why). If, however, the information was ignored because it did not fit certain preconceptions about Iraq, then a legitimate argument can be made that we went to war under false pretenses.

“War between religions and science will never end; because they speak difference languages. There is a lack of communication between them.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“Information wants to be free. (Excerpted from: "On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other."”

Stewart Brand (1938) American writer

Whole Earth Review, May 1985, p. 49.

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