Century Quote by Lawrence Lessig
“While the creative works from the 16th century can still be accessed and used by others, the data in some software programs from the 1990s is already inaccessible. Once a company that produces a certain product goes out of business, it has no simple way to uncover how its product encoded data. The code is thus lost, and the software is inaccessible. Knowledge has been destroyed.”
About This Quote
Source Article: The Future of Obsolescence, 2015
Old digital formats become unreadable when original creators disappear, leading to loss of knowledge.
In simple terms: Software can become unreadable when creators vanish.
Key Takeaway
Preserve documentation and open standards.
Themes
digital preservation
knowledge loss
software obsolescence
open standards
legacy systems
Mood
concerned
urgent
reflective
Type
analytical
policy-oriented
When to use this quote
- museum curation
- enterprise data migration
- software maintenance
- policy making
Key Concepts
Intellectual property
digital decay
archival science
technology lifecycle
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we ensure long‑term access to digital data?
- What responsibilities do companies have to preserve their code?
A Different Perspective
Open standards may not guarantee future compatibility.
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