Being Remembered in Hundreds of Years
likely that at least one of our descendants will instigate a profound change in the world .
Finally , we might consider the concept of the “ butterfly effect ”
Finally , we might consider the concept of the “ butterfly effect ” suggested by mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz . This metaphor suggests that the flapping of a butter‐ fly ’ s wings can ultimately lead to the development of a torna‐ do on the other side of the world . No one remembers the butterfly or even knows it existed , but the tornado would not have occurred if not for its influence . Thus , making a small difference can have huge consequences .
Being Remembered in Hundreds of Years
My patient ’ s father suggested that being remembered is much easier today than it was 500 years ago . He noted that since the internet is available to us , we can make a record of our lives that could be viewed in the future , whereas most people who lived 500 years ago had little opportunity to record aspects of their lives in a permanent form .
While I agreed that the internet allows us to have more ways of recording our lives , it seems to me that the sheer amount of information on the web would make it difficult for any one individual to be remembered , unless a search specifically tar‐ gets an individual . Further , I wondered if future internet plat‐ forms will preserve what we store on the web today . If at some point in the future , the web is no longer used , the information stored in the internet cloud could be gone forever , as opposed to written books or printed photographs that have the potential of being preserved more easily .
If we are talented and extremely lucky , one of our creations ( for example , writings , music , film , technology , or games ) could still be influential for hundreds of years and perhaps even have our name associated with it . However , the odds of having such an impact are extremely small .
Furthermore , even if we are remembered , does this mean we made an important contribution ? The earliest known person from writing may have been Kushim , a Sumerian accountant from 5000 years ago , who wrote on