13.0018 mutability

Humanist Discussion Group (humanist@kcl.ac.uk)
Mon, 17 May 1999 22:57:42 +0100 (BST)

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 13, No. 18.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
<http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>

[1] From: Patricia Galloway <galloway@mdah.state.ms.us> (8)
Subject: Re: 13.0016 mutability

[2] From: <nellac@home.com>
Subject: Re: 13.0016 mutability

--[1]------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 22:54:04 +0100
From: Patricia Galloway <galloway@mdah.state.ms.us>
Subject: Re: 13.0016 mutability

I am reminded of an old bush rose in my garden, called "Mutabilis": its
blooms, which are bountiful and continue nearly year-round here, change
color as they bud, open, become full-blown, and finally fall. Thus there
are always blooms of several colors on the bush.

-- 
Patricia Galloway
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571
voice 601-359-6863

--[2]------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 22:53:49 +0100 From: "by way of Humanist <humanist@kcl.ac.uk>" <nellac@home.com> Subject: Re: 13.0016 mutability

Your comments really are timely. I've just been working on some voluminous materials comprised of thousands of private journal and notebook entries of a well-known writer which are about to be published. These "private" writings will open up a wealth of new insights and novel directions for study, and will change substantially the way in which he is perceived. If these entries had been stored in a computer and destroyed with that great facility for erasure which lies under our fingertips, what a loss!

No, with the greatest of respect Willard, I don't think we should necessarily assume that the formal construction and composition of THE BOOK necessarily makes it any more worthy of permanence than episodic scribbles (whether digital or otherwise) which may contain a wealth of words and ideas.

Apologies if this misses the tenor of your talk.

NC

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