[-empyre-] technological and human dis/remembering

[John Hopkins]

halló folks

I think the use in recent few posts of a word like "permanent" regarding a 
digital record seems to merit some discussion. Imho it is a hang-over from the 
hubris-laced techno-utopianism (and, for example, sci-fi) of the Cold War -- 
where technology was primarily an absolute monument to the success of the human 
species. There persists a presumptive hubris that very much tags along behind 
this word within the developed world. "The Cloud" and any other manifestation of 
'external' memory is definitely *not* permanent and will definitely *not* 
persist "forever." Ever. From a humanities (and theoretical/philosophical) pov 
it may seem this way, but from a systems pov, it is not the case. It may perhaps 
be a useful concept in thought-experiments. But the data will persist precisely 
as long as the techno-social system has the energy to maintain the orderly 
arrangement of magnetic dipoles on a disk. This is no magic, but rather a simple 
case of the wider system deciding that the information has a value that 
justifies the energy expenditure. When the point comes (when "The Cloud" is 
choking us with it's hydrocarbon emitting power source), you can be sure there 
will be wide-scaled 'forgetting.' The powerful illusion of 'permanence' probably 
preceded great forgettings of the past: the fire at the Library of Alexandria 
comes to mind, they relaxed their control over their information.

Also apropos: the concept of standards and protocols in a techno-social system. 
These words frame a field of intense and very real conflict with very real 
consequences. There is a constant struggle within the structure of a 
'technological' society as to who controls (creates, polices) the standards by 
which the technological infrastructure is constructed. These struggles take on 
moumental proportions that ultimately determine what is remembered and what is 
forgotten. Ever face the problem of opening an old file for which you do not 
have the software platform? This is a simple example. The winners of the 
conflict dictate what is forgotten by who they have vanquished. Large swathes of 
digital memory are lost every time there is a (digital) protocol change. This is 
the same concept where a language is used by a small tribe—when the last of that 
tribe dies, there is a huge forgetting.

Cheers,
JH

-- 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dr. John Hopkins, BSc, MFA, PhD
grounded on a granite batholith
twitter: @neoscenes
http://tech-no-mad.net/blog/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++