A revolution in biographies

[Loren Booda]

How will future biographies differ from those past, given the proliferation of electronic data?

[lisab]

Do you mean, for example, if a PFer had a biography written about him years from now, and the biographer had access to all his posts, even the goofy ones in GD :wink:? Then the biographer may know some pretty intimate things about him (http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=217449).

To me, it would make him more human. Just think of Feynman's biography...it was all the stories of him being funny, irreverent, and light-hearted that made him so appealing to the masses.

Or, of course, it could be the case that his electronic trail shows clearly that he's just a jackass.