We have photo albums going back 4 and 5 generations. We have postcards sent by great grandparents and grandparents during the first world war. I can imagine Neal Stephenson like alternative stories about people falling out when they come back...
I think that - as often with the digital/Internet thing - it is not qualitatively new having documents of yourself, but the huge increase in the quantity of this information and the way it lives outside your control. Same way that mix tapes in the two tape drive days were copyright violation, but had a considerable time and effort barrier so not too many got made and they had limited distribution. Digital copying is low effort, and broadcasting trivial. Hence problems...
PS: I'm 54 and think about Life, Time &c quite often.
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We have photo albums going back 4 and 5 generations. We have postcards sent by great grandparents and grandparents during the first world war. I can imagine Neal Stephenson like alternative stories about people falling out when they come back...
I think that - as often with the digital/Internet thing - it is not qualitatively new having documents of yourself, but the huge increase in the quantity of this information and the way it lives outside your control. Same way that mix tapes in the two tape drive days were copyright violation, but had a considerable time and effort barrier so not too many got made and they had limited distribution. Digital copying is low effort, and broadcasting trivial. Hence problems...
PS: I'm 54 and think about Life, Time &c quite often.