Failure of the imagination..
Jim Macdonald writes on why 1,600 people died in the Titanic disaster: failure of the imagination
Before radio, lifeboats were more or less useless as rescue craft. Unless the ship was sinking in sight of another ship the choice was to go down with the ship or die of dehydration on the life boat. The chance of being picked up by another vessel was highly improbable.
After radio, you could call for help. Provided there were enough lifeboats for the passengers, and rescuers were on the way, the changes of survival were good.
Similar questions are raised every time there is a natural disaster: how can the Internet help? Today a major limitation on the help possible is the fact that it takes a considerable amount of time for the Internet social structures to turn a crowd into a community. Most Internet users are looking to do the best they can to help but there is always a small number looking to game the system or to profit from a scam.
The Internet provides relief workers with plenty of information but much less actionable knowledge. A report that food and water are urgently needed in location X may be legitimate or may be the work of a hoaxer looking to make a profit by diverting scarce supplies and selling them on at extortionate prices.
If we could inject some accountability and authentication infrastructure into the Internet ahead of a disaster it would become much easier to turn information into actionable knowledge. Instead of directing an aid worker to go out on the ground and verify the claim, the request can be directed to a local co-ordinator already on the ground.
