Outsourced memory: computers and conversation

Human memory is multilayered, partial, ephemeral, and fallible. Memory stored outside the person, as a photograph or in a computer, is quite different. Human memories change when retrieved, and new memories alter our perception of previous memories. Over time we forget, which can be a good thing. Wh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perspectives on science and Christian faith 2013-09, Vol.65 (3), p.179
Main Author: Herzfeld, Noreen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Memory
Philosophy of mind
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Human memory is multilayered, partial, ephemeral, and fallible. Memory stored outside the person, as a photograph or in a computer, is quite different. Human memories change when retrieved, and new memories alter our perception of previous memories. Over time we forget, which can be a good thing. While human memory is a process, machine memory is a place. Its permanence can be an illusion (memory corruption). Its permanence can also become a problem, in that it does not fully allow for forgiveness and change. As we rely on computers more and more to be our external memories, we alter how we remember, what we remember, and our relationship to the past. Due to the differences in human and machine memory, outsourced memory should be seen as an aid rather than a replacement, and we should be wary of what we commit to digital storage.
ISSN:0892-2675