Gathering dust
Occasionally I look carefully around where I live. The things I have collected and keep in various storage medium. Some mediums like bookshelves are open and the items attract dust. Dust that needs to be dealt with from time to time. The other day the thought then struck me about the items, the books, sitting there full of the information they hold, gathering dust and being static as they await attention once more.
Disclaimers
Names / logos can be trademarks of their respective owners. Please review their website for details. I am independent from the organisations mentioned and am in no way writing for or endorsed by them. The information presented in this article is written according to my own understanding, there could be inaccuracies, so please do undertake your own research. The featured image of 43018, is my copyright, please don’t use without my permission. 43018 itself is now at Crew Heritage Centre (www.crewehc.co.uk/news/hstannouncement), not so much gathering dust but looked after.
Thoughts
What of that information within the books? Is it still relevant? Could I still make use of it or am I just keeping that book out of sentimentality or the thought that I may need it one day. Just like that bit of old wood you hope will come in handy but you know the moment you dispose of it then you’ll need it.
There are two types of information, fact and fiction. Fiction is far more resilient to change as it is ‘fiction’ and only changes when wanted, it is almost timeless. Factual information however can change on a daily basis as we learn and discover new information that affects our knowledge and understanding of the world. But some facts last for a long time, a ‘true’ until proven ‘false’.
With the factual information I keep about mostly computing and software engineering, I do occasionally from time to time look at the books. But nowadays with the web being so accessible through one or more devices that are immediately to hand, I have to consider: Has the world of the web fully transformed the factual information that we digest? Are my books redundant? Always there as a reminder of what once was and what I needed to understand at the time.
But there is a catch, well sort of. How do I know what I read on the web is truly factual? Is it because it makes sense and fits into that great puzzle in my mind that maps out my knowledge? That knowledge having being gained from the very books I keep and the experience of putting them into practice, along with other textbooks / documents / educators. All of whom have been reviewed in some shape or form for accuracy. Therefore I can’t quite let go, to recycle the very foundation of my knowledge. And so the dust will build and time will be required to deal with it.
Books, journals and magazines therefore still have a place in our connected information driven world. Containers of stability amongst the apparent chaos and maelstrom of so many words from so many people. A source of trust as long as the author(s) and their reviewers are in themselves trustworthy because society has deemed them to be so from the evidence and criteria attributed to their being.
Paradoxically the medium of a book, journal or magazine can still be electronic, a storage medium just like paper. One that doesn’t gather dust in one way, but does take up space on your electronic storage medium. A physical device capable of attracting dust, dust that needs to be removed from time to time to preserve the integrity of the device.
Trust
From thinking about dust to trust. The real thought here is trusting the information you absorb and use to make decisions upon. Trusting who created and reviewed it. That is why we keep what we believe to be true as it supports our very being.
- Gathering dust – 16th August 2025
- Humanity – 16th July 2025
- Max sections – 16th June 2025
