When our culture’s past is lost in the cloud – The Washington Post

When our culture’s past is lost in the cloud – The Washington Post

Imagine if the Declaration [of Independence] were composed today. It would almost certainly be written on a computer screen rather than with ink and paper, and the edits would be made electronically, through email exchanges or a file shared on the Internet. If we were lucky, a modern-day Jefferson would turn on track-changes and print copies of the document as it progressed. We’d at least know who wrote what, even if the generic computer type lacked the expressiveness of handwriting. More likely, the digital file would come to be erased or rendered unreadable by changes in technical standards. We’d have the words, but the document itself would have little resonance.

Much truth to ponder here.

(via Sal Korivi)