There Was Nothing to Fear and Nothing to Doubt

They say the 21st century is going to be the Asian Century, but, of course, it’s going to be the Bad Memory Century. Already, you go to dinner parties and the middle-aged high achievers talk more about how bad their memories are than about real estate. Already, the information acceleration syndrome means that more data is coursing through everybody’s brains, but less of it actually sticks. It’s become like a badge of a frenetic, stressful life — to have forgotten what you did last Saturday night, and through all of junior high.

"The Great Forgetting" by David Brooks in today's NY Times.

I realize that at times this blog risks becoming a pro-David Brooks propaganda machine, but if you appreciate his opinion pieces, I would strongly suggest picking up both Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There and On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense.

Also, if you needed more incentive to pick up those books, he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer!