> If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks. What you have discovered is a recipe not for memory, but for reminder. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them of many things without teaching them you will make them seem to know much, while for the most part they know nothing, and as men filled, not with wisdom, but with the conceit of wisdom, they will be a burden to their fellows.
- Plato
Although this is different, because it is still written, just not by oneself, which probably makes the effect of relying on it and forgetting even worse.
Plato here is often brought out as a counter example for why saying a technology will damage cognition is obviously wrong, but I don't think its that simple. Writing and the proliferation of knowledge is an obvious good, but I think plato is otherwise correct here. Societies without reading and writing seem to have people who are able to memorize much larger amounts of information, the early muslims memorized the koran at first, which is quite a feat, before writing it down. A more accurate view is that there are trade offs.
I guess I disagree with Plato, unless he's talking about how I no longer know anyone's phone numbers off the top of my head.
I think it's fairly well established that when you think about a topic well enough to generate ideas and put them on the page that you also cement those ideas in your mind. If you want to remember something you read (or see or do), write about it. In your own words.
> If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks. What you have discovered is a recipe not for memory, but for reminder. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them of many things without teaching them you will make them seem to know much, while for the most part they know nothing, and as men filled, not with wisdom, but with the conceit of wisdom, they will be a burden to their fellows.
- Plato
Although this is different, because it is still written, just not by oneself, which probably makes the effect of relying on it and forgetting even worse.