this is a really good entry, especially the bit towards the end there about memory, technology, etc. I really like these personal entries, but I know how hard they can be to write - sometimes I feel silly because I’m almost too reflective on this page….

@ Michelle:
as a fellow liberal artist, I can sympathize with your need (impulse?) to critique everything that comes your way. I do the same thing, but I think that is the hallmark of a good arts education - learning to think independently, not allowing any argument to go by unscrutinized. After all, no idea, theory, or hypothesis is perfect, so I find that everyone can benefit from a thoughtful critique, provided it is constructive.

I would argue, as I think you are, that writing itself is a kind of ‘technology’ that allows us to store information or build arguments that we’d otherwise be unable to remember. The kind of writing (or information storage) that Dave talks about in this posting is more, I think, about impression, rather than opinion:

“Opinion is over-valued. But it’s easy to share opinions. To share impressions well you really have to be an artist.”

Hence, your point about Greek drama is well made - impressions/memories are often best “interfaced” through art, even if that art was made by someone else!

Also, I think that all the digital files on my computer are a kind of art as well, created organically by my relationships, interests, etc.
In fact, my computer is an extension of my memory - it helps me, like written words, to save things I could never hold in my head. I don’t think its a matter of “remember less” to “store more” on a machine, rather I remember more through my machines - they are an extension of myself.

A great book on these themes of technology, self, and memory is called Natural Born Cyborgs by Andy Clark. If this stuff interests you, I really recommend it.