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Tue 07.09.10
Plebs 2952 |
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Nostalgia of memory 10/10/2007 10:51 Around the 5th Century BC in Greek antiquity there were concerns about the written word and it's effects on society. A few hundred years earlier, knowledge was passed on through the use of stories and poetry and committed to memory. The written word was dissolving the bonds of conservation and freeing space within the mind for moving into analytical thought. The beginnings of philosophy can be traced to this period. There was however a sense of nostalgia for the days of pre-writing, when knowledge was passed directly from person to person. The credibility of the knowledge was understood and with writing it was feared that knowledge could be misinterpreted or difficult to validate. Then I think about the Internet, email, forums, blogging and wonder if we'll move once more beyond letters and words towards a new technology and memory capacity will be something I'll just upgrade as needed? Comments simon spencer - 30/10/2007 07:49 These are all issues commented on by Mamoru Oshii in his ghost in the shell series. If you can get past the flashy robots and guns, and listen to the future concepts that is. Lee McCormack - 01/11/2007 10:15 Thanks Simon, I'll look it up. Katie Wall - 23/01/2008 09:14 I find the prospect of 'increasing memory capacity' as an upgrade quite scary! I advocate pushing things forward in terms of technology - but at the same time I'm wary of messing around too much with what nature intended (in terms of biological modification). interesting that there was a fear of information being mis interpreted with the use of the written word - what about the concept of chinese whispers? Lee - 03/02/2008 11:32 Chinese whispers refer to the gradual evolution of an idea or concept that eventually becomes unrecognisable to its original format. I imagine that this was always the concern before writing existed and so the concept of rhyme and verse to tell and memorise a story became one way to safeguard against the original essence being lost forever. Chinese whispers is generally associated with a single story being passed around with embellishments and details omitted along the way - not necessarily to be consciously passed on to the next generation in order to keep the knowledge alive. I guess it comes down to folk lore, fable, tales and traditions, keeping them alive before we could write them down was a task upheld by specific elders in a community and passed through a lineage dedicated to the task. If anyone has further thoughts on it would be interesting to hear them. Katie Wall - 05/02/2008 11:00 I always found it interesting to see how far removed from the original whisper you could get in a game! What interested me was the concept of word of mouth being perceived as more reliable means to communicate and keep stories alive.. On another note, parents still read aloud to their children - story telling is an important part of the bond, despite being read from a book. I think it's because the time is focused on the child. I've heard about a service that provides parent's who are in prison the means record a story on CD for their children; which makes the child feel as though the absent parent is still there in their lives.. Add Comment You have to be logged in to comment on blogs. |
