A pre-digital precursor.
A recent article about Jack Kerouac (and there have been many of these of late
because of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of On The Road) reminds
us that Kerouac's style was carefully crafted to seem spontaneous. But even more
important:
... Kerouac was, at heart, a self-mythologizer, whose
primary purpose was to transcribe his experience, to preserve every instant,
every interaction, through the fluid intercession of his pen.
Preserving "every instant" might seem, at first glance, to be a worthy goal, but
it is, of course, impossible. We can't be in the here and now if we're busy preserving
it (which is why, I suppose, "what I ate for lunch" blogs cease to be
interesting after a short period of time). Nor is it clear, if we actually want
to be in the here and now, why we might want to
take the time and effort necessary to preserve it.
Go to: Extreme remembering, or
Go to: The shoebox advantage.