>Why is it inherently valuable to save things that are no longer used? Current utility is a poor predictor of future utility. For the same reason we have The N

>Why is it inherently valuable to save things that are no longer used? Current utility is a poor predictor of future utility. For the same reason we have The National Archives, various libraries, and "Big Data" as an entire industry -- Humanity has learned time and time again that information storage is valuable to our collective knowledge. Our ability to decode various languages contributes to that. >Humans in groups have nasty tendencies toward hoarding. Could you provide some examples of what you mean? I can only think of the violent history of civilizations when I think of humans in groups. From the sacking of the Library at Alexandria to demolition of the Buddha of Bamyan, humans seem to have a propensity for destruction and genocide.