2006.03.24
I'm trying to remember what it used to be like before the Internet. When the dialog in my brain floated along leaving questions in it's wake to dissolve and be forgotten. Now knowing the answer to any question is only a few keystrokes away, it is hard to let any idle question pass me by. I'll be sitting on the train daydreaming about some random thought. I might think of a movie. Who was that actor anyway? I have to remember to look it up. Someone mentions the classic science question, "why is the sky blue." Haha, of course I know that. I learned that in elementary school. Wait, do I really know why? I better check later on Wikipedia. Or what was that odd book I saw someone reading. I saw half the title, so I could probably google it. Soon I have a whole mental list of things I need to look up later, and soon that list starts to unravel. By the time I get in front of my computer I have that uncomfortable feeling of remembering the list, but not it's contents. What was I going to check again? I can't remember! That is why I am looking forward to the neural implants with wireless access. Instant answers a thought away! Maybe someone wrote a science fiction story about such a device. I need to remember to look that up later.
--Old blog comments:
March 25th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
jer Says:
I've actually solved the list dissolving problem
by carrying around a little moleskine notebook,
where I jot down everything I need to remember.
The funny thing is though, I never remember to
look in it to look things up...
March 25th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
GNBenson Says:
Hey I got one of those too.
(See 12/10 news of
http://gnbenson.com/2005news.html)
It's useful if I can drag it out. But sometimes I
am walking or on a train and it's too much of a
hassle to root around in my bag, if I even have my
bag, to get the moleskine. I just think, "This thought
is too significant to forget, there is no need to write it down!" Ha!
April 15th, 2006 at 9:53 am
Andrew Says:
You can get a small tape recorder, that is
digital and saves mp3s. "Note to self... the boy knows too much..."
April 17th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
GNBenson Says:
I rather not be saying "Note to self...
look up Debbie Gibson on Google and see if
she's still performing" while I ride the subway.