Today’s comic from xkcd really struck me – even more than their normally awesome work – because it looks at something I deal with on a seemingly daily basis: cultural memory. My wife and I were born in the mid-60s, so I remember watching Watergate, seeing Jaws and Star Wars in theaters, gas lines, and on and on. Some things like watching Bullitt this week and seeing rotary phones and the utter un-connectedness really stood out with my kids, whereas stuff like music and other pop culture items have filtered somewhat through time.
Myy wife works with many young adults in their early 20s who have not been inundated with decades of pop culture, art and science the way our kids have, and as a result when she refers to their computer system as HAL and says “I’m sorry … I’m afraid I can’t do that” there is only one person she works with who ‘gets it’ – and it is someone a few years older than my wife!
This comic simply lists major cultural touchstones that will fade from cultural memory year after year. What things do you look back upon fondly that is slipping from the collective memory?
Head to xkcd for more details and loads of other great comics!