[avarun]

Wouldn't be from a legal sense, but the societal implications of technology like that becoming commonplace are still immense. The limitations of human memory provide safety in a way today that would quickly erode if everybody could remember exactly everything that's ever been said or seen around them.

[Breza]

I agree with you. I had a bit of a falling out with a friend and wanted to check in on her a few years later. The immediately preceding messages in Messenger were the largely-forgotten unpleasantness. Quite awkward. It really drove home how much of a blessing forgetting every little slight is.

[Cyph0n]

For an interesting exploration of this, I suggest watching the Black Mirror episode “The Entire History of You” (S1E3).

[nindalf]

Honestly one of the best episodes of TV I’ve seen, simply because it challenged one of my core beliefs. I’ve always struggled with a poor memory and I’ve tried all kinds of systems to improve retention and recall. This episode challenged the benefits of remembering everything pretty well and made me reconsider.

[chambored]

Safety from what exactly?

[avarun]

"You said X 3 years ago, but now you said, which is the opposite of X. How dare you?" is one class of problems. Another is that you can learn quite a bit more about a person than they wished to actually divulge to you if you're able to capture and study their exact behaviors over a long enough stretch of time.

[twerkmonsta]

Wait, why are people not allowed to change their mind on something? If anything this would make it more explicit and understandable when people did change their mind on something.

[Viliam1234]

> Wait, why are people not allowed to change their mind on something?

In theory, changing your mind should signal that you are capable of thinking about things, and changing your mind based on what you learn.

In practice, most people's opinions are determined by peer pressure. You believe X because the important people around you believe X.

From that perspective, changing your mind means that your loyalty has changed. Previously you tried to be friends with people who believed X, now you are trying to be friends with people who believe Y. No one likes a traitor.

[ziddoap]

>Wait, why are people not allowed to change their mind on something

I don't think parent comment is suggesting that people aren't allowed to change their mind.

They are pointing out that many people yell "hypocrite!" when someone does change their mind. It's already a phenomenon on social media where people will dig through someone's post history and drag them through the coals, using previous stances on a topic in an attempt to discredit the current stance. Parent is suggesting that this problem would be exacerbated.

[int_19h]

I think that people will stop yelling "hypocrite!" once they themselves get repeatedly get called out on the same by others.

Our reactions to stuff like that are defined largely by our cultural expectations, but those are in turn constantly shaped by what is made possible or impossible by technology. Back in the pre-voicemail phone era, for example, people would routinely call someone and expect them to be available for a half-hour chat - you could turn it down, sure, but in many cases it would be considered impolite to do so as a matter of social convention. Then voicemail appeared, and SMS was the final nail in that coffin.

So I think that this problem will exist for a while, but if the tech that enables it persists long enough, it will eventually go on as conventions change to adapt to it.

[true_religion]

I disagree. People would instead become like modern politicians and never give an opinion.