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January 24, 2007
Introspection , Observations : Bits vs. atoms
The subtext of a lot discussion for the last decade has been the distinction between atoms vs. bits. As an example, it used to be that you could only purchase music as atoms (records, tapes, CDs); but now music can be conveniently dealt with as just bits (MP3 files, etc.) which has forced various industries to rethink how they do things (or try and force bits to behave like atoms). Photography used to be about atoms (film, prints, etc.) and now is about bits. While (so far) attempts to get rid of the atoms in most books have failed, reference books have almost completely been replaced by their equivalent bits. Even the process of shopping is now dominated by the bit-equivalent of stores.
I mention this because I recently found myself asking a personal variation of atoms vs. bits question. For reasons not worth elaborating on here, I began to ponder if some disaster were to strike (earthquake, fire, whatever), and I only had time to grab one thing before I ran from the house, what would I grab? What I found striking (and worth blogging) was that the choice was absolutely clear – my backup hard disk. It contains things like the scans of every photograph I have ever taken, my Email logs for the last 15 years, all of my personal writing projects, etc. In short, it contains all of the (nearly) irreplaceable bits I value most.
Now I do own some atoms I value: photographs of our wedding that Anne and I haven't scanned in (yet?); a handful of Apollo (moon landing) related memorabilia I got from my dad (who worked on the project); my autographed copy of Midnight Nation by JMS; my copy of the rare board game "Campaign for North Africa"; a half-dozen out-of-print books that would be difficult to replace. But the problem with atoms is that they are big and clumsy to carry in large numbers. For as much as I value these various objects in my life individually, I'd need to pile quite a number of them together to have the same value as all of the things recorded as bits in my backup drive (which I can comfortably slip into a coat pocket). It is an interesting measure of how much my life has become digital.
What's more, even though I am a computer professional, I don't think it was that long ago that the idea that I would end up valuing bits that much would have been quite strange to me. It used to be that bits were big and bulky to carry around and never were quite as good as "the real thing" (atoms). Even knowing Moore's Law, I'd never considered the possibility that I'd be able to carry enough bits around with me that I would choose them over an equivalent encumbrance in atoms.
Now for the moment I may be on the leading edge of this trend; but looking around, this seems to be the way the industrialized world is going. Which leads me to Microsoft's "immortal computing" research project and related efforts. After all, if what people value most are their bits, then how long will tombstones made of atoms be valued as memorials? There are already companies in the business of running "virtual cemeteries", where each deceased loved one has their own web page to be preserved indefinitely. Add to that all of the bits someone accumulates over their life (photos, etc.) which increasingly give a detailed picture of who they were and what they were like. Perhaps instead of building pyramids or other grand tombs out of atoms, future generations will seek immortality through their bits.
Posted by Steven at January 24, 2007 11:14 AM
Comments
I've never had to make the choice, but I note that I carry a couple of memory sticks with me at all times these days and inside are (in #1) the things I'm working on, and (#2) things I want a copy of, including pictures and writings. So I may have subconsciously arrived at the same decision that you've arrived at more overtly.
My mother had to make the choice with little warning during the second world war. The bombers came to level Koenigsberg (Kalingrad today) and my mother knew she had to run out of the house or be trapped inside. She grabbed something, anything on the way out: two raw eggs. No, they didn't survive the very turbulent next five minutes. But the family got out (the dog, Rex, didn't).
[I'll add a parenthetical note here. If you know the allied bombers are fairly precise, and you see that two nights ago they hit #1-1000 on your street and last night they hit #1001-2000 and you live in #2001... well, you'd think there'd be a little forewarning there and some planning might have been good.]
Posted by: roland at January 24, 2007 02:38 PM
That's a good point . . . I would probably grab my thumb drive in a fire (although I'd go for my hard copy of my novel as well). But then, in previous fire alarms I've experienced, I remember actually grabbing the following:
-keys so I could get back in
-shoes and a jacket
-a book I happened to be reading when the alarm went off
-and, once, my novel
I haven't yet managed to grab the thumb drive on my way out.
Posted by: Kristen at February 18, 2007 12:29 AM
