The forgetting of authors

After we got back from Houston we discovered that our family had burned through its data allowance in about two weeks. We were using about a gig a day, and Mary and I were the worst offenders. I still haven't been able to figure out what it was. Some combination of podcasts, maps and music for me, for her probably taking all those pictures and storing them in the cloud before immediately throwing them away.

Which tells me that I need to be downloading then jettisoning content more proactively. So I downloaded a book on Audible. I had a few credits for use after the lengthy listening of that dry book on China and also listening to a few podcasts from Acquired.

Before heading out to work one way I went through my list and quickly selected Damsel in Distressed, about a woman who worked in distressed debt at hedge fund Canyon Partners for a couple of decades. So far the book is fine but not great; it would of course be better if she read it herself but I guess she figures her time is too valuable. Frankly thus far I don't think it would be a great book even if I was reading it off the page as it's too full of cliches. 

After listening for several days I knew she was French but I had no idea what her name was. A quick Google tells me it is Dominique Mielle. This is by no means the first time I've forgotten the name of the author of a book I'm listening to. In fact, it's pretty normal. Largely it's a function of the fact that I'm not picking up a physical object with the author's name printed on it each time I am consuming the text.

But I also forget the names of authors of books I read. I even forget their titles, or the fact that I read them at all.

Is this bad? I think as we come through the educational system there's a lot of emphasis on authorship and proper citation. Jenny Jones wrote that on page 16 of Book X. One needs to be able to demonstrate that one has had ideas for oneself and that one hasn't "stolen" them. Also it's because the authorship industry has to have a leg to stand on. If we want people to be able to support themselves as thinkers and writers, they must have some rights and "intellectual property" to defend.

But as consumers and as the decades roll on all that's not really important. The only thing that matters is having wisdom and the seasoning to implement it in life. The primary reason to remember authors' names is that one wants to be able to see them in a used book store and buy their books if there are good discounts. And to honor them when it is merited.