Dennis Baron mentions in his book, "A Better Pencil" how Plato proposed that writing would "produce forgetfulness", while Socrates speculated that written words "don't mean what they say" (pg. 3 & 4). In their day writing was still relatively new and perhaps scary and threatening. However, writing has prevailed over the years.
We know that in the present day cultures with writing use this tool on a daily basis. In fact, contrary to Plato's thinking, many people write information out as a means to
remember it. Writing has become so common that we have a plethora of writing tools that each come with multiple variations of themselves such as pencils, pens, markers, chalk, cell phones, computers, etc. Almost anything that will make a mark can be used for writing, even in the digital world. This is now a very common and commonly accepted phenomenon-- yet, it is not free from scrutiny.
In the days of Plato and Socrates, things that were written down could be destroyed and made irrecoverable. This may be one reason why writing appeared to be a source that was not considered credible to them. It was not like the spoken word-- which once spoken can not physically revoked and can always be recalled by the hearer.
Baron brings up the fact that in the present day the statement, "'I want that in writing' is a common reply that most of us have made to some statement likely to be forgotten, denied, or retracted" (pg. 5). Writing now gives more credibility (though it is still not 100% credible). It gives physical and lasting evidence of a promise, thought or action-- even still this form of writing can be destroyed, forged, or not-complied-with.
However, now we have more advanced technology such as the aforementioned computer or cell phone with which we can "write". Now we have a means to convey ideas in a realm that is not as destructible as a stone tablet, or a piece of paper. We have the Internet, we have databases, computer "chips" and virtual storage of information. Everything posted in such places can often be recovered even after it has be "removed". Even if the physical machine which something was written in has been destroyed, the document could still appear in another remote
. Pencil and paper aside, information destruction in a Digital Era takes more than just an eraser to remove something once written or displayed. As technology continues to advance, it may behoove the cultures who use it to begin posess a heightened sense of integrity and
.
So were Plato and Socrates correct in their warnings and hesitations? Or have new reasons for reservation come about? In a digital world, should we now consider not how forgetful writing may make us; rather, how writing is preventing us from being able to forget?
