Opinion Remembering By Tony Laszlo	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
記憶と記録、どちらが大切？ 日記をつければ、過去の失敗に学ぶことができる。一方、何でも記録することは 記憶力減退につながるという声もある。 筆者は最近、新形態の「日記」を始めたが…。

Generally, it is not a good idea to look back over one's shoulder while moving forward into a new space. If we don't keep both eyes trained forward, we might bang our shins on a bit of furniture blocking the doorway, step on someone's cat, or even fall into a gaping hole in the floor that might be in front of us.

But what is common sense in our ordinary daily lives does not apply to our journey through time. Like when we cross into a new year, for instance. While looking forward as we take our first steps into 2004, it is best to cast our eyes back over the previous twelve months. That way, we can refer to those experiences as a guide, replicating successes when possible while side-stepping new obstacles and pitfalls that are similar to those we have already seen.

Of course, when looking back in time there is a limit to how far back, and to how clearly we can see: our memory. Traditionally, people have augmented their ability to recollect the past by jotting down notes about various events in a journal. But does making a written record of events really help to improve our memory?

Surprisingly enough, when writing was first invented, not everyone was crazy about the idea. According to the tale as told by Plato and more recently by Umberto Eco, when presented with the new technology the Egyptian king of the time criticized it as something that would weaken his subjects' ability to memorize. People would no longer train their minds to remember events, he reasoned, if they were to begin writing down their memories.

Would humans be better off recording the world using nothing more than their little gray cells? Alas, as someone who writes for a living, I do not have the luxury of finding out by experiment. However, I may be able to learn something by taking journal-keeping to a new extreme. Recently, I have begun to use my cellphone to take snapshots of the diverse people, things and places that I encounter in my daily life, and draft a few words to go with each image. My hand-held then sends the data to the LaszloMoblog, the website I maintain for that purpose, where the entry is displayed for all to see. The whole process takes a minute or two.

Unlike traditional journals, there is no need for pen and paper, nor even for a computer with access to the Internet. I just point the phone, snap the shot, bobble my thumb up and down a bit, and record the moment.

If LaszloMoblog ever came to the attention of the pharaohs of old, I'm sure they would accuse me of storing in cyberspace memories that might as well have been kept in my mind. They would have a point, and I will even concede that the ancient Egyptian, on average, probably had the greater capacity for memorization. But thanks to the evolution of "writing" and my self-imposed obligation to maintain a newfangled journal, I do more than just remember things. I find myself "discovering" an increasing number of noteworthy objects, places and moments in my path, and communicating about them with people all over the world. True, I have trouble remembering what day it is. But I'd say the trade-off is worth it.

Shukan ST: Dec. 26, 2003

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