You have accumulated information, and you treasure it as yours. Of course, some of it is shared information. Sharing information is the way the universe works. That’s one of the reasons that physicists like Stephen Hawking spend time thinking about black holes. Black holes might be sinks for information. Whatever—star, planet, dust, and gas—falls into them takes information about itself into the darkness. Black holes are the ultimate burning of the library of Alexandria.
What causes us, sometimes, to act like black holes? Is it just a matter of our finiteness and limited intellects? All that information we learned about what is good or bad, about “smart” and “dumb,” about healthful and unhealthful, and all the associated information disappears in the black hole of disuse, forgetfulness, and willful hoarding.
Apparently, from generation to generation we burn our libraries. We fail to pass on the information that would save the next generation from folly, mistake, and evil.
Is there any sign that we are preserving our Alexandrian library for the next generation? Will we fail like those who built previous libraries?
What causes us, sometimes, to act like black holes? Is it just a matter of our finiteness and limited intellects? All that information we learned about what is good or bad, about “smart” and “dumb,” about healthful and unhealthful, and all the associated information disappears in the black hole of disuse, forgetfulness, and willful hoarding.
Apparently, from generation to generation we burn our libraries. We fail to pass on the information that would save the next generation from folly, mistake, and evil.
Is there any sign that we are preserving our Alexandrian library for the next generation? Will we fail like those who built previous libraries?
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