I was having a discussion with Jane last night about how we routinely use computers to supplement our memory. She felt a bit bad about always having to look things up but I do that too; I think I’ve got a fairly good memory but it’s often worth putting in a little time to be sure than risking a lot of time if you’re wrong!

Books are still a great reference source – their tangible physical presence compensates for what is lacking in the searching interface and a familiar book is still an invaluable tool even for someone like me, who spends a good proportion of their time in front of a computer, creating information for other people to read on screen!

However, digital memory sources – computers in all their manifestations and with all their multifarious ways of storing and searching – are also a real boon. A little bit of hardware and software can be an invaluable adjunct to the “wetware” of the human brain. Thanks for the memory!

Tags: memory, digital memory, storage, searching, books