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Iām in Vancouver, killing a couple of days before aĀ flight.
I lived here for a good number of years, a decade or so ago, and wandering through my old stomping grounds has brought up all manner of memories.
Memories of people, places, and experiences I havenāt thought about in years have, on these walks come roaring back, more often than not bringing a smile to myĀ face.
Without being present, without being physically in Vancouver and standing in front of these locations, itās unlikely these memories would have surfaced.
All of this got me thinking again about the collection and logging of our personalĀ data.
Is giving up some privacy not also a better way to counter our minds fallibility?
My memory at 42 isnāt what it once was. Almost daily Iām having conversations that have me grasping at straws for the name of so and so, or the location of that place we went to thatĀ time.
More futile grasping than razor-sharp recollection.
Forgetting things is the natural progression of life; the brain gets full, it loses some of its elasticity and these memories of ours, at times, fade into obscurity.
Iām not sure about you, but I donāt want to forget the goodĀ times.
You know what doesnāt forget? My devices. My apps. The platforms Iāve chosen to give my information.
There has to be some value to this data collection when it comes to reminding us ofĀ things.
Foursquare will regularly tell me how many times Iāve been to a location. The āYour Timelineā feature in Google Maps tracks all the places Iāve been, sorted by day. Facebook has āOn This Day,ā all powered by my history and the data created by myĀ travels.
None of these are comprehensive enough for genuinely augmenting memory, but the information is there, and that is the hardĀ part.
At what point will I be able to ask some system to show me a complete collection of memories with my brother? Everywhere we went, what we did together and all the content created from those activities?
When can I ask to be shown all the times I went to a particular restaurant, bar or attraction, who was there with me andĀ when?
There isnāt a great interface for accessing this information, yet, but that doesnāt mean that collecting the data is inherently evil. Not when, put into the right context, it would be so valuable to usĀ all.
How do you remember your favoriteĀ moments?
Further Reading
How Much is Your Privacy Worth To You?
If youād like to weigh in what Iāve written, shoot the shit or if I can help out in any way with writing words or helping refine your product or technology strategy, drop me a line: kerry@betterstory.co or find me onĀ Twitter.
So How Good Is Your Memory, Really? was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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