Old Acquaintances Aren't the Only Things Forgotten

Knowledge is extremely transient unless steps are taken to preserve it. Do you remember Jessica Hahn? If the name rings a bell, but you can't quite remember who she was, you're not alone. (She claimed that Jim Bakker, of the PTL, raped and abused her. She later got a boob job and was in some music videos.) Twenty years from now, anyone under 30 years old won't remember Monica Lewinsky either.



Often a piece of data loses some of its relevance unless more is known about its source, its level of importance, the date it was created, etc. For example, I was recently clearing out boxes of old stuff in my basement. I came across a piece of a party streamer. On it was written "New Year's 1984," but I have no idea why it was worth saving. Metadata can and should be added to existing data to address the limitations of data itself.



For example, everyone knows that tonight is New Year's Eve and that tomorrow is New Year's Day. Everyone knows that Christmas (December 25th) celebrates the birth of Jesus, and everyone knows that the upcoming year is 2002, counting from Jesus' birth. So why does the New Year begin on the eighth day following Christmas? Because New Year's commemorates Jesus' circumcision (a Jewish bris), which takes place on the eighth day of life.



Happy New Year to everyone, even to Jews who consider it 5762.



### Get your Daily Bruce! ###

Tell me your favorite "betcha didn't know" story.