A Different Kind of Memory: Examining the Effect of Technology through the Ages

Authors

  • Robin Parker

Keywords:

Information in Society, Memory

Abstract

 

The effect of new technologies on human memory is a subject of interest for educators, technology developers, and information specialists. However, such a preoccupation is not new to contemporary society. The current situation is examined by reflecting on the historical context of developments in technology and considering different perspectives on the significance of memory on personal and collective levels. This paper provides an overview of the contemporary understanding of how human memory functions as well as a discussion of the role of various types of memory in society.

References

Alsop, J. (2005). Losing our minds. College &amp; Research Libraries News, 66(11), 790-791, 838. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.<br /> <br /> Billington, J. (2001). Culture, memory and technology. Sewanee Review, 109(2), 218. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. A Different Kind of Memory 14<br /> <br /> Blackmore, T. (2004). High on technology &ndash; Low on memory: Cultural crisis in Dark City and The Matrix. Canadian Review of American Studies, 34(1), 13-54. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.<br /> <br /> Block, M. (2002). Memory. Encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. Retrieved from CREDO.<br /> <br /> Blunstein, S. (2008). The moral demands of memory. New York: Cambridge University Press.<br /> <br /> Boornstin, D. J. (1983). The discoverers: A history of man&rsquo;s search to know his world and himself. New York: Vintage Books.<br /> <br /> Briscoe, I. (2000, December). When computers chip away at our memories. UNESCO Courier, 53(12), 44-45. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.<br /> <br /> Bush, V. (1999). As we may think. Library Computing, 18(3), 180-188. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global database.<br /> <br /> Buschkuehl, M., Jaeggi, S., Hutchison, S., Perrig-Chiello, P., D&auml;pp, C., M&uuml;ller, M., et al. (2008, December). Impact of working memory training on memory performance in old-old adults. Psychology and Aging, 23(4), 743-753. doi:10.1037/a0014342<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0014342" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0014342</a><br /> PMid:19140646<br /> <br /> Carr, N. (2008, July/August) Is Google making us stupid? The Atlantic. Retrieved November 24, 2008, from http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google<br /> <br /> Donald, M. (1991, December 26). An urgent matter of the mind. The Globe and Mail, p. A22. Retrieved from ProQuest Newsstand database.<br /> <br /> Donald, M. (2001). Memory places: The revolutionary function of libraries. Queen&rsquo;s Quarterly, 108(4), 558-573. Retrieved from CBCA Complete database.<br /> <br /> Donald, M. (2004). Is a picture really worth 1,000 words?[Review of the book: Computers, visualization, and history: How new technology will transform our understanding of the past]. History and Theory, 43, 379-385. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2303.2004.00289.x<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2303.2004.00289.x" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2303.2004.00289.x</a><br /> <br /> Elsweiler, D., Ruthven, I., &amp; Jones, C. (2007). Towards memory supporting personal information management tools. Journal of the American Society for Information Science &amp; Technology, 58(7), 924-946. doi:10.1002/asi.20570<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.20570" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.20570</a><br /> <br /> Eskritt, M., Lee, K., &amp; Donald, M. (2001). The influence of symbolic literacy on memory: Testing Plato's hypothesis. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 55(1), 39-50. Retrieved from Canadian Periodicals database.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0087351" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0087351</a><br /> <br /> Harris, D. (2007, May 24). So, what was that memory technology again? Electronic Design, 55(11), 50-54. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.<br /> <br /> Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management &ndash; Volume 5 &ndash; Spring 2009 15<br /> <br /> Huyssen, A. (2000). Present pasts: Media, politics, amnesia. Public Culture, 12(1), 21-38. Retrieved from International Political Science Abstracts database.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/08992363-12-1-21" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/08992363-12-1-21</a><br /> <br /> Johnson-Laird, P.N. (1988). The computer and the mind: An introduction to cognitive science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.<br /> <br /> Loftus, E., &amp; Calvin, W. (2001). Memory's future: Will technology change the way human memory works? Psychology Today, 34(2), 55. Retrieved from CINAHL with Full Text database.<br /> <br /> Magnussen, S., Endestad, T., Koriat, A., &amp; Helstrup, T. (2007).What do people believe about memory and how do they talk about memory? In S. Magnussen &amp; T. Helstrup (Eds.), Everyday Memory (pp. 5-25). New York: Psychology Press.<br /> <br /> Memory. (1997). The Macquarie dictionary. South Yarra, VIC, Australia: The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. Retrieved from CREDO.<br /> <br /> Memory. (2000). The Penguin English dictionary. London, United Kingdom: Penguin. Retrieved from CREDO.<br /> <br /> Memory. (2001). Chambers 21st century dictionary. London, United Kingdom: Chambers Harrap. Retrieved from CREDO.<br /> <br /> Memory. (2006). Dictionary of Information and Library Management. London: A&amp;C Black. Retrieved from CREDO.<br /> <br /> Muske-Dukes, C. (2002, December 29). A lost eloquence [Op-Ed]. New York Times, pp. 4-9. Retrieved from Banking Information Source database.<br /> <br /> Ong, W. J. (1982). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word. New York: Methuen.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203328064" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203328064</a><br /> <br /> Parker, J. K. (1993). Lecturing and loving it: Applying the information-processing model. The Clearing House, 67(1), 8-11. Retrieved from Research Library database.<br /> <br /> Pedersen, I. (2008). MyLifeBits, augmented memory, and a rhetoric of need. Continuum: Journal of Media &amp; Cultural Studies, 22(3), 375-384. doi:10.1080/10304310801919429<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10304310801919429" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10304310801919429</a><br /> <br /> Pessach, G. (2008). [Networked] Memory institutions: Social remembering, privatization and its discontents. Cardozo Arts &amp; Entertainment Law Journal, 26(1), 71-149. Retrieved from Film &amp; Television Literature Index with Full Text database.<br /> <br /> Pinto, J. (2007, December). Automation is a crutch. InTech, 54(12), 10. Retrieved from Research Library database.<br /> <br /> Radstone, S. (2000) Working with memory: an introduction. In S. Radstone (Ed.), Memory and Methodology (pp. 1-21). New York: Berg. A Different Kind of Memory 16<br /> <br /> Rogers, W. A., &amp; Fisk, A. D. (2006). Cognitive support for elders through technology. Generations, 30(2), 38-43. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.<br /> <br /> Rosenberg, D. (2003). Early modern information overload. Journal of the History of Ideas, 64(1), 1-9. Retrieved from Research Library database.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jhi.2003.0017" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jhi.2003.0017</a><br /> <br /> Samuel, D. (1999). Memory: How we use it, lose it and can improve it. New York: New York University Press.<br /> <br /> Thompson, C. (2007, September 25). Your outboard brain knows it all. Wired, 15(10). Retrieved 25 November, 2008 from http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-10/st_thompsonhttp://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-10/st_thompson<br /> <br /> Walshe, E. (2008, September 11). Who needs a good memory when there's Google? The Christian Science Monitor, 9. Retrieved from ProQuest Newsstand database.<br /> <br /> Warwick, K. (2004, June). Headline from the future. Popular Science, 264(6), 54. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.<br /> <br /> Weiss, R. P. (2000). Memory and learning. Training &amp; Development, 54(10), 46-50. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global database.<br /> <br /> Yates, F. A. (1966). The art of memory. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.<br /> <br /> Yeo, R. (2007). Before memex: Robert Hooke, John Locke, and Vannevar Bush on external memory. Science in Context, 20(1), 21-47. Retrieved from Historical Abstracts database.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0269889706001128" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0269889706001128</a>

Downloads

Issue

Section

Articles