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In support of paper

Does anyone remember the days when inky stains on paper was our primary method of archiving and disseminating information?

Surprisingly, it wasn't very long ago that books, newspapers, memos, letters and other forms of paper-based communications were the norm and electronic media was the exception.

That we have seen so much change in such a short period of time may perhaps be a reason to sound a few warning bells because I think we're in danger of losing a huge amount of our history and our knowledge if some kind of major apocalypse strikes.

As we increasingly trust our valuable data to non-human-readable media such as disks, flash-memory devices and "the cloud", maybe we should spare a thought for the level of danger that even a relatively common event might have on our access to that data.

A CME as large as (or larger than) The Carrington Event could see power grids knocked out and computer systems damaged across the face of the planet -- with little in the way of migitation possible. If your data is stored in the cloud but you have no power then even if those cloud-based systems managed to emerge unscathed, you'd still be unable use them.

Other events that could precipitate the loss of electronically stored data might include a major nuclear conflict that would not only create destructive EMPs but also obliterate the infrastructure on which access to this data relies.

The one great thing about printed material is that all you need to access it is some light and a mark-one eyeball. Even if all our fancy tech was rendered useless in a microsecond, an archive of printed material would still serve to provide an essential source of learning, information and knowledge for ourselves and future generations.

Of course printed material is not without its own drawbacks. It's heavy, bulky, hard to back-up and vulnerable to things such as fire, flood, mold and, over time, even the simple oxidation of the paper on which it's printed. However, its ability to operate without the need for additional support technology makes it uniquely suited to weathering the storms of celestial or man-made vents that could otherwise cast us back to the stone age.

Given the rather turmultuous state of the world right now, with conflicts that could go nuclear with almost existential effects, I have to wonder if we're doing enough to protect the legacy of our knowledge-store. Any attempt to rebuild civilisation from the ashes of a major natural or man-made apocalypse would rely hugely on access to the knowledge we've acquired over the centuries. Without such access, we'd be effectively starting from scratch.

Should there come a time when we're forced to beat our old computers into plough shears in order to survive, the most powerful nation on the planet will be the one with the most complete and accessible information archives. Those who have vested almost their entire knowledgebase to digital media may well become the third-world nations of the future.

And besides, books are just nice to have, aren't they?

Carpe Diem folks!

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