Technology consolidates space. One hard-drive for movies, one for music, one for back-up. If the Kindle goes well then add one for books. Looking at media in a more practical sense - -which I think is what IS happening- - books, dvds, cds, vinyl, magazines and comics can take up a lot of space. Imagine how much more effort it takes to move because of your possessions. Aside from the things listed, there are clothes, various technologies and possibly instruments and glassware. Imagine if all media was digital, given to its own hdd or a house server.
Music turned digital and downloaded (legally or otherwise) is much more easy than buying it. There’s no time in transportation taken. Along with that, there's a subtraction of interaction with humanity, as little as exchanging money with a clerk, obeying traffic laws with the rest of the people that don't want to die because of a complications with cars. (Maybe it's compensating with facebook and the millions of chat groups that popped up when the internet, as a public forum, was still in its infancy --imagine what that says about us while thinking of how the internet is mankind's time capsule and daily record, warts and all). Still, We're years away from seeing what we're turning into. I've long wanted to be a cyborg. It’s still a great wish of mine. As eager as I am to change the direction of my existence and become a cyborg, I am equally eager to see what direction my fellow man is going. It’s digital and there's no doubt about that. The way we balance the digital and analogue is going to be one hell of a headache. We see glimpses with online dating, and people spending more time in front of the computer because it has turned into the all mighty magic machine that can deliver any bits of media that anyone else deemed worthy of depositing into the capsule.
In Caprica, the new spin-off that is, in fact, a prequel to the most beloved BSG, the idea that we, each human being that has a digital existence and record, can be reduced to our hard-drives. Think about it. If I die, my taste in movies, music, books will be on my hard-drive. That’s my taste. If I had a blog, that adds to this information some memories and politics, which will be delivered in a fashion, mixed in and held together by my tastes. If I have a diary program or a simple txt document that I update every day and date, then I potentially have every memory. If my dna survives, my great great great great grandchildren can talk to a facsimile of me if this information is delivered in the right fashion.
The imagination and capacity for dreams propels our technological output while challenging our intelligence and dwarfing our limitations. One day this planet will be safe... I hope so. And I believe it will be due in no small part to technology. It will save us, even if it means our martyrdom.
I Think Andrew Bird songs can sometimes sound like songs by Jeff Buckley or Rufus Wainwright
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