Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from

When Mitch Kapor, pioneer of personal computing and founder of Lotus, declared, “Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant,” he spoke as one who had glimpsed both the glory and the peril of the digital flood. His words are not merely a witty metaphor but a vision of the overwhelming power of the Internet—a river of knowledge so vast, so forceful, that one who approaches it seeking nourishment may instead be struck by its unrelenting torrent.

The meaning of this saying lies in the paradox of abundance. In earlier ages, men hungered for knowledge. Scrolls were rare, books scarce, libraries precious. To find wisdom often required pilgrimage, patience, and discipline. But in the digital age, the struggle is no longer scarcity, but excess. The seeker who comes for a sip of understanding may be blasted with floods of data, fragments of truth mingled with falsehood, wisdom drowned in noise. Thus Kapor warns: the Internet is not a gentle stream but a raging hydrant.

History gives us many reflections of this truth. Consider the rise of the printing press. When Gutenberg’s invention spread across Europe, books once rare became abundant. The common man, long starved of words, suddenly found himself amid a forest of texts. This brought enlightenment, but also confusion, as old authorities were questioned and countless voices competed. Revolutions and reformations were born not only of truth, but of too much truth, too fast. In the same way, the Internet multiplies voices, and the seeker must learn to discern or risk drowning in contradictions.

We see this truth vividly in modern life. A student begins a search for knowledge, but one question leads to ten more, each page opening a hundred links, each link a hundred arguments. What began as thirst for clarity ends in bewilderment. The hydrant does not quench but overwhelms. Thus, the challenge of our age is not access to information but mastery over it. Without discipline, abundance becomes chaos, and the seeker is left more parched than before.

Yet Kapor’s metaphor is not a lament, but a challenge to greatness. The torrent of the Internet is not an enemy; it is raw power. The fire hydrant, though too strong to drink from directly, contains the water that saves cities from flame. So too the Internet contains treasures of knowledge, if one learns the art of channeling it. The task of our age is to build vessels, filters, and disciplines that allow us to drink without drowning, to gather wisdom without being shattered by noise.

O children of tomorrow, the lesson is clear: do not approach the Internet with haste or hunger alone. Come with tools, with judgment, with patience. Seek not to swallow all, but to draw what is pure, what is true, what is nourishing. Just as the ancient navigators learned to chart the seas, so must you learn to navigate the torrents of information. The power is great, but so too must be your discernment.

Therefore, remember Kapor’s words: “Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.” Do not despair at the flood, but rise to meet it. Build the skills of focus, of wisdom, of choice. Learn to sip where others drown, to drink deeply yet wisely. In this way, the torrent that blinds the careless will empower the prepared. And in your mastery of information, you will not only drink—you will thrive.