arstechnica.com — The rise of fast processors and cheap storage means that remembering, once incredibly difficult for humans, has become simple. Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, a professor in Harvard's JFK School of Government, argues that this shift has been bad for society, and he calls instead for a new era of "forgetfulness."
May 9, 2007 View in Crawl 4
blizMay 10, 2007
Hm...maybe they'll forget in a year or two that I've not paid my taxes.
dacman61May 10, 2007
Good old M$ Office spell checker has made me mentally retarded anymore when it comes to spelling. And I'm powerless anymore when it comes to advanced math these days without a trusty TI-83 graphing calculator. Maybe it's just me getting old or from me drinking too much alcohol i college. :)
fireant202May 10, 2007
I understand wanting to make computers forget sensitive information, but some stuff has to be remembered. If a computer is like a human brain, then there should be hundreds of little things that are ignored or forgotten all the time, that's how a human brain can even function in the world that's so full of crap. But at the same time, we retain numerous amounts of important information that define who we are: memory, lessons, etc. A computer should be the same. Maybe some kind of HAM (Human Access Memory)? haha. In that way computers could become more like human brains and therefore more efficient (accepting that the human brain is as perfect a machine we can make) without facing a Matrix killer robot scenario (as this deals only with information not control).
frygoblinMay 10, 2007
its alrready been mention twice but yeah ive had plenty of hard drives crash files get corupted and other data disasters. this guy obviously knows little about technology and is just pissed becvause he cant manage his home computers files and feels frustrated. :P
ronaldinhoMay 10, 2007
@Quadraginta Kudos to you for bringing up the Second Law of Thermodynamics. I agree that it's not because we are deleting things in our mind that we are forgetting things, it's because we cannot retrieve the information stored somewhere in our brain (if at all, of course). Same thing with our computers. In the end if we don't always use it or put it under a special preserved section, we are likely to lose it.Although I think the professor's point is that while we may not organize it and "remember" things, other people may snoop around and then find things to hold against us. It's an interesting point, but then it's not really that I got much to hide. I think most people probably are really careful about what we post online anyway. Besides, it's free speech. We are only exercising our right, and internet happens to be one of the best places to do it. Screw you if you hold THAT against me.Finally, I still think the professor is on crack as his advocation may set the likes of Bush, Gonzalez, and Enron free from the history books when they deserve to be there for their infamy and corruption
slapthemonkeyMay 11, 2007
Oh yeah!!! Good idea.