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I am 100% sure there is no root kit installed on my piece of paper transmitting every pen stroke to the internet. I am 100% sure there is no defect in the desig

I am 100% sure there is no root kit installed on my piece of paper transmitting every pen stroke to the internet. I am 100% sure there is no defect in the design of the piece of paper that could make it instantly readable to the entire world once discovered. You can't say that about any software or hardware.

tartoran 6y ago
Private journaling is likely to end up encrypted forever and not accessible to the families of deceased persons. Sure, it could be argued that it was encrypted on purpose but one never knows. Someone may suddenly pass and their loved ones would never get access to this piece of their work even if the author intended to share it and never got to leave the encryption key (they never expected their sudden departure) Sure, this same thing could be argued about electronic mail, computers and other encrypted devices but I feel something deeper would be lost a lot more often. Imagine Kafka used an encryption tool on his work or countless of other silent authors whose work only came to life after their death when somebody else discovered it.
- mandelbrotwurst 6y ago
  Well, unless there are technological improvements in processing speed that allow for future decryption, right? Food for thought though, for sure.
- crooked-v 6y ago
  That's a problem with encrypted stuff in general, and as a society we really haven't worked out any better way to manage that yet than measures like "keep a clearly-labeled master password in a safe deposit box where your estate can get at it".
justsomeuser 6y ago
I agree, the tech stack under pen and paper is very light compared to computers. But it's only as secure as your physical security. With an encrypted hard drive and a strong key, the files remain private even when the physical security is breached.
throwawayboise 6y ago
A piece of paper (in the USA at least) also has stronger constitutional privacy protection than digital files uploaded to cloud storage/sync services.

tartoran 6y ago

Private journaling is likely to end up encrypted forever and not accessible to the families of deceased persons. Sure, it could be argued that it was encrypted on purpose but one never knows. Someone may suddenly pass and their loved ones would never get access to this piece of their work even if the author intended to share it and never got to leave the encryption key (they never expected their sudden departure) Sure, this same thing could be argued about electronic mail, computers and other encrypted devices but I feel something deeper would be lost a lot more often. Imagine Kafka used an encryption tool on his work or countless of other silent authors whose work only came to life after their death when somebody else discovered it.

mandelbrotwurst 6y ago
Well, unless there are technological improvements in processing speed that allow for future decryption, right? Food for thought though, for sure.
crooked-v 6y ago
That's a problem with encrypted stuff in general, and as a society we really haven't worked out any better way to manage that yet than measures like "keep a clearly-labeled master password in a safe deposit box where your estate can get at it".

justsomeuser 6y ago

I agree, the tech stack under pen and paper is very light compared to computers. But it's only as secure as your physical security. With an encrypted hard drive and a strong key, the files remain private even when the physical security is breached.

throwawayboise 6y ago

A piece of paper (in the USA at least) also has stronger constitutional privacy protection than digital files uploaded to cloud storage/sync services.