What will a random 1% fragment of our present data contain?
We know 0,1 to 1% (still discussed) of the Antiquity´s texts. An elaborated article describes the loss of books in the Late Antiquity. (interestingly there is no english version, but Deutsch, Dansk, Français)
The last classical antique library in Constantinople burnt down in the 5th century and 120.000 codices with it. The first medieval library of the 6th century contained about 100 books.
Today, publishing basically is everything “put in the internet”: any photo, video, post or a blog- or facebook-profile-entry.
The answer to the question above is determined by probabilities. The more often a topic is published the more likely it will be part of the 1% fragment.
The following figures show the ratios of google-search results for some key words. The larger the square the higher the amount of search results. We start with “moon landing” and zoom out. What is still legible on the last illustration has a high probability being part of the 1% fragment of the stories of the 21st century.
The last figure certainly reflects what is important to most of the people. In that light the 1% fragment isn´t necessarily a distorted image of today. However MOM preserves in particular these stories which also are part of our identity, but which will most likely be forgotten.
Here one more link: on bullshit.