Don’t disagree. But what this, amongst other recent developments, helps to unveil is that print records are crucial to a stable republic. Electronic records are nice and convenient, but they also tend to engender a certain degree of laziness in accurate recordkeeping, q.v. SVB, but also things like relying on rating agency grades instead of consulting them and doing an independent analysis. Plus, electrons have an annoying tendency to just go pffft and disappear into the aether. It’s far, far easier to memory-hole online records than print ones. Plus with the advent of “A.I.”, online accuracy is going to become even more difficult.
Paper records, for when you absolutely, positively have to be sure (of things like malfeasance, misconduct, prevarication, CYA and other craven poltroonery).
Very good observation, Ken. We’re seeing this today with “rewrites” of classic literature intended to prevent mental injury to modern snowflakes.
Great point.
Paper is the closest we have to immutable records…Digital? Down the memory hole
It’s exactly the definition of where the meme “memory hole” comes from! In Orwell’s 1984 all records were put on-line and viewable via telescreen only and thus changeable by the state at-will. Printed records were illegal. Anything on paper at the Ministry of Truth that had to be altered (corrected as the proper word in doublethink) was done on the machine and the paper was placed into a device called the “memory hole” that incinerated it upon contact. Thus the history of the state was infallible!
Making former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sound reasonable — an incredible accomplishment
Don’t disagree. But what this, amongst other recent developments, helps to unveil is that print records are crucial to a stable republic. Electronic records are nice and convenient, but they also tend to engender a certain degree of laziness in accurate recordkeeping, q.v. SVB, but also things like relying on rating agency grades instead of consulting them and doing an independent analysis. Plus, electrons have an annoying tendency to just go pffft and disappear into the aether. It’s far, far easier to memory-hole online records than print ones. Plus with the advent of “A.I.”, online accuracy is going to become even more difficult.
Paper records, for when you absolutely, positively have to be sure (of things like malfeasance, misconduct, prevarication, CYA and other craven poltroonery).
Very good observation, Ken. We’re seeing this today with “rewrites” of classic literature intended to prevent mental injury to modern snowflakes.
Great point.
Paper is the closest we have to immutable records…Digital? Down the memory hole
“Breaking Bad as an 80s Yakuza Film”
https://youtu.be/PecR4DpOBFA
It’s exactly the definition of where the meme “memory hole” comes from! In Orwell’s 1984 all records were put on-line and viewable via telescreen only and thus changeable by the state at-will. Printed records were illegal. Anything on paper at the Ministry of Truth that had to be altered (corrected as the proper word in doublethink) was done on the machine and the paper was placed into a device called the “memory hole” that incinerated it upon contact. Thus the history of the state was infallible!
Making former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sound reasonable — an incredible accomplishment
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2023/05/01/lightfoot-weingartens-lying-aft-never-worked-with-us-to-reopen-schools-n547593?cx_testId=1&cx_testVariant=cx_undefined&cx_artPos=1&cx_experienceId=EXIO3RTI8YOF#cxrecs_s
I’m reminded of a paraphrase that originates with a line given in the TV series Fawlty Towers and credited (whether actual or not) to John Cleese:
“One could operate a decent public school, if it weren’t for the students…”