"As someone whose identity was built on organic memory, I'm threatened by the prospect of removing subjectivity from our recall of events. I used to think it could be valuable for individuals to tell stories about themselves, valuable in a way that it couldn't be for cultures, but I'm a product of my time, and times change.
We can't prevent the adoption of digital memory any more than oral cultures could stop the arrival of literacy, so the best I can do is look for something positive in it. And I think I've found the real benefit of digital memory. The point is not to prove you were right; the point is to admit you were wrong.
Digital memory will not stop us from telling stories about ourselves. As I said earlier, we are made of stories, and nothing can change that.
What digital memory will do is change those stories from fabulations that emphasize our best acts and elide our worst, into ones that--I hope--acknowledge our fallibility and make us less judgmental about the fallibility of others."
--The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling, Ted Chiang (2018)
Comments0
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.
