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Dances with Beagles
Colonial Settler
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 19 2002
Status: offline
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 Posted - June 06 2004 : 10:09:43 PM
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This is something I've been pondering, though not too deeply or completely...but here goes. I'd be interested in your thoughts...
I guess this was prompted by having my hard drive crash, and life as I knew it ceased to exist for a bit (!). And, I lost a lot of my correspondence and thoughts that I'd put on my computer.
Much of what we know about history is from what people have written down---letters, journals, publications, etc--that have survived for later generations to study.
These days, there is certainly no shortage of information, opinions, correspondence, etc. in the world. Except now, it's in electronic form, (and in my case, is gone into the cyber-ether!). So, what will remain for future generations to read and learn about our lives? Will they be able to read the same format that we write in today? Will any of our personal correspondence survive, since much of it is now by cell phone, instant messaging, or email? Sure, there are zillions of newspapers, magazines, etc., but what will there be on a more individual level? What will be left for future descendents and historians to sift through, to study about our time? Or will future technology be so awesome that they can retrieve almost anything they want (maybe even stuff from the cyber-ether?!!?)
Even something like Mohicanland....will it survive in some form (or format), for people to know that "once we were here"?
No, I have NOT been drinking!!! It's just something I've thought about in a few pensive moments, especially after I read any history or biography that has a person's thoughts and writings which add to our understanding.
Maybe I have too much free time lately...?!!!
Maybe I should spend more of it backing up files from my hard drive!
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richfed
Sachem
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 13 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - June 07 2004 : 05:13:14 AM
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| I think about the same, Dances. Now ain't that somethin' to worry about!!!! I believe that the final message of Gangs of New York addresses this same issue ... I don't think we're alone in thinking about this. |
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Theresa
Bumppo's Tavern Proprietress
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 17 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - June 07 2004 : 07:25:13 AM
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This is something I'm seeing in our younger generation. They DO NOT like to write and most of their handwriting is not legible. I attribute this to our fast-paced world these days. It's much easier to plop down in front of a computer and peck away...and keyboarding skills are taking the place of handwriting skills in our curriculum. Most students want instant gratification.
As for me, I suppose I'm guilty of not writing things down as well. Actually, the only time I've done so is in keeping a journal of some of my travels...Mohican Gatherings being one of those, of course.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Dances. I'll try to do better.  |
Theresa |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - June 07 2004 : 08:17:28 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Dances with Beagles
These days, there is certainly no shortage of information, opinions, correspondence, etc. in the world. Except now, it's in electronic form, (and in my case, is gone into the cyber-ether!). So, what will remain for future generations to read and learn about our lives? Will they be able to read the same format that we write in today?
Dances, you are not the only one who has been concerned about this aspect of it. As a genealogist, I have wondered how my descendants (if I have any!) will be able to find out genealogical information about me 200 years from now. Written records are being put into electronic formats as quickly as you can blink. Some information is going directly there, without even stopping on paper first! How will future generations access records that are stored in totally obsolete formats?
Paper lasts a very long time and presumably, people will still be able to read the printed word 200 years from now. The only thing I can think of that can destroy paper records... is fire. If I understand it correctly, my own father's WW II and Korea military records, along with millions of others, were apparently lost in a huge fire in the 1970s! Not to mention several ancestors' Rev. War records that were lost in the burning of D.C. during the War of 1812. Tragic.
Obviously, the best solution is to have both paper and electronic. But the electronic files must continually be upgraded to the newest and latest type! Will that happen? I have heard that there are already important records that were put in early electronic formats... that are inaccessible now. This is scary, indeed. |
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Kaylynn44
Mohicanite
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 13 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - June 07 2004 : 09:08:14 AM
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Nancy,
To tell you the truth, I haven't thought about this much. I guess that I just assumed that my ancestors would be able to get any records that they needed if they ever wanted to.
You bring up a very good point. I may have to start keeping a journal!!!
Kay |
~ An Infinite Zephyr~
Some things never end
As long as goodness exists
Winds shall always soothe
www.cloudsbooks.com
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Scott Bubar
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 17 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - August 01 2004 : 10:12:18 AM
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I wouldn't worry to much about this folks. Electronic memory has been expanding at an incredible pace. documents that were once buried in various libraries can be read for a few seconds work on Google.
A few years ago, a gentleman whose name I can't recall wrote a book whose title I cannot recall. His thesis, and he was quite serious, was that information storage would inevitably expand to the point that it contained all information. The whole thing. The universe, the space-time matrix, you and your ancestors--the whole ball of wax.
Of course once you imagine this, the question inevitably becomes: How do we know we're not already in storage! |
~~Aim small, miss small. |
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The Future of History?
