#information Prior to the rise of computers, humans were indispensable links in every chain of information networks No paper document has ever produced by itself another paper document, let alone distributed it. The path from one document to another must always pass through the brain of a human. computers are fully fledged members of the information network, whereas clay tablets, printing presses, and radio sets are merely connections between members. But the computer is first and foremost a new, nonhuman member in the information network.