label remanence

As the world enters silly times, it is worth thinking ahead to the kind of world we want to build next, once people finally realise they have to be sensible again. As Herodotus (tho he makes some of them up), or even Harari (and he takes it too far, of course), point out, there is a wide range of cultural setups that humans can create for themselves.  So let's allow ourselves to imagine a radically and fundamentally different human world.

In this spirit, then, I propose the following idea: a world with less label remanence.

Consider the following illustration:

 

 

Your first impression might be: depicted are several items, and in that sense the picture is in the same category as a still life by Michelangelo, say.  But look more closely.  Does the Michelangelo have bits of glue and damage, where a label has been removed from each piece of fruit?

The reflective surface is a Simplehuman bin.  I have 4.  They all have severe label remanence.

The box is by WH Smith.  There was a circular sticker declaring half price something or other.  When I removed it, it tore the surface of the box.

The laptop is an X1 Nano by Lenovo.  Like every PC laptop, it comes with very ugly Intel stickers attached.  These are made of metal and use extremely strong glue.  They used to leave a gluey and sticky permanent residue, with a permanent effect on the ergonomics of the laptop.  In this case, removal was cleaner than that, but there is still remanence.

Label remanence is mostly the fault of people in marketing departments.  So is spam.

Now, dare to imagine a world with less label remanence.