Editing the future's digital history.....

[mobileMike]

Editing the future's digital history.....

The intersection of two independent events in my life has lead me to believe our future's digital history is in jeopardy.

Event 1: Our family had decided to make a collection of historic family photos on one of the walls in our home. This requires searching through boxes of old “paper” photos stored in relatives' closets.

Event 2: April 1, 2004 the local news paper has a fictitious story about seals being introduced to a local lake. The store includes digitally modified photos showing the seals swimming in the lake with city landmarks in the background.

I truly believe that our descendants will be able to realize that newspaper article is fake simply because the date is April Fools day. Now just image where the original digitally modified pictures are for the newspaper article. They are probably stored on some disk with some cryptic name. Let's call it a “virtual shoe box”.

If someone is scanning through these archives 100, 200 or 500 years from now there may exist no cross reference between these altered photos and the fictitious story. I believe the same is true for many photos taken today with digital cameras or camera phones. I can only image being a historian of the future.

I am contemplating editing some photos that place me with influential people or at exotic places and lacing my relatives' photo shoe boxes with physical printouts of my “art”. The date of this transaction would be April 1, 2005 giving me one year to prepare. It may be that just months before I die I will be discussing with my grandchildren the people and stories behind the photos in those very same shoe boxes. Will I then reveal my April Fools joke of 2005?

- mike schmidt

[Duncan]

This is nothing new. In the old Soviet Union it was common for photographs to be altered to remove those no longer in favour - and even occasionally add people. For centuries paintings have been commissioned to place the new leader at the right events, and with the right people. Historical texts and official histories have been subject to continuous revision from the day they were first set down.

Digital revision is actually less of an issue. Firstly - as our ability to manipulate digital images improves - so too does our ability to test. examine and prove such manipulation. Secondly - we are no longer subject to single interpretations by one artist, writer, photographer. Our history is being continually recorded by multiple sources. Any change to one will be contradicted by others...

[Jason Dunn]

Interesting thoughts. :-)

[karen]

There have been some interesting debates on manipulation of photos over the last few months.

...and yes, every government has altered the historical record in some format, written or graphic.

For instance, the congressional record in the US bears little resemblance to what actually happend on the floor. Whole speeches, which never happend are edited into the record. Very weird.

American school children are raised to believe the Civil War was about slavery...it was about commerce and had the same concepts as today's issues with offshoring....children are taught that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French government, etc.

Cosmonaughts are removed from photos (erie), John Kerry edited into photo with Jane Fonda, then lo and behold, a real photo shows up with the two of them nearby...

We can't believe photos any longer....but it might as well be the same doubt that we have about written history.


Curiouser and curiouser it is.

K