[ARSCLIST] Digital in a post-digital universe--was: Interesting WSJ Article on when libraries should discard their holdings.

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Don, this makes no sense. An occurance that would decimate every copy of every
digital data would
> definitely destroy all other matter, too. Books and records burn faster than
computers, last I
> checked.
>
Oddly enough...not QUITE true! Digital devices are electrical by nature,
and thus subject to electromagnetic impulses...so, IF digital non-magnetic
storage survived, we'd be left with a whole bunch of unreadable objects
(shades of Etruscan tablets?) until the survivors could not only reconstruct
digital computers but figure out the data formats used!

Whereas, any old 78 that didn't get burnt or melted needs only a simple
(quite possibly, accidental) process to establish that it contains (sonic)
data. Run a fingernail, claw, talon, wothaveya, along a groove...and
vibrations are created. We're only in trouble if the species that
rediscovers our cindered planet has NO concept of "sound!"

Steven C. Barr