Comments on: as we may think

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 01 Dec 2003 13:33:27 +0000

“We are increasingly entrusting to software the various gathering, sorting and linking operations that we used to perform for ourselves and that were part of the process of thinking about a subject… The shift from book to screen may in its eventual impact on what knowlege is be as transformative as the shift from Newtonian to Einsteinian physics.”

- Sven Birkerts in Sense and Semblance

more fun along these lines (although it’s a slight detour from issues of memory per se):
http://www.cheesebikini.com/archives/000228.html

By: Joi Ito

Joi Ito — Sat, 29 Nov 2003 07:24:35 +0000

My forgettery is as important if not more important than my memory. I have completely forgotten the paid of my medical procedures, but remember every great conversation or quote in the context of my expanding world view. I guess the problem comes when you need to be non-linear about your growth and know that you need to come back to this place in the future. I think the trick is to put little markers in your memory so you can get back. I still remember my friend Jon playing a trick on me when I was in a weird state of mind. He said, “THIS IS THE REALEST THING YOU’LL EVER KNOW!” I still remember the twinkle in his eye and the loop it sent my brain in. ;-p

By: Ping

Ping — Sat, 29 Nov 2003 01:28:28 +0000

Talking to futurists and reading about the possibility of greatly extended lifespans has made me think about what it means to grow older. Suppose for a moment that advances in medicine make it possible to keep our brains and bodies working smoothly for a very long time. Would our minds still get old — saturated with unforgettable knowledge of the world’s injustices, cynical from a lifetime of watching the best laid plans go awry, less open to new ideas, set in our ways? Are there things we can do to keep our minds young and supple, inspired and eager to learn?

Computers become less reliable and less useful over time as more software components are installed, even if the hardware is undamaged and continues to function perfectly. Do all information systems, including minds, suffer from similar gradual degradation in the face of increasing information complexity? Or are minds different in a fundamental way?