One of the things I repeat over and over in my Microsoft Access classes is this: don't delete data. I even have an entire video about it. I don't care if a customer died ten years ago - don't delete them. You discontinued a product in 2017? Don't delete it. And no, you shouldn't be wiping out old orders just because they "clutter up" your database. That clutter is your business history. You don't throw away your past just because it makes the screen look busy.

The better solution is simple: add an IsActive field. Checkbox, Yes/No, whatever. Mark inactive stuff as inactive. Then filter it out of your dropdowns or reports. That way you keep the historical record, but you don't get bogged down in legacy entries when working with current data.

Because trust me, you'll want that data someday. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but eventually you'll be kicking yourself: "Who was that customer from Nebraska who placed that weird custom order back in 2014?" Too late. You deleted them. Good luck digging through old backups - assuming you even have them.

And this principle doesn't just apply to databases. It shows up everywhere.

Take science. According to a recent report, NASA is being pushed to destroy a perfectly functional satellite that monitors carbon dioxide levels in Earth's atmosphere. Not because it's broken. Not because it's obsolete. But because the data it collects is politically inconvenient. It's doing its job. The data is valuable. And someone in power wants to delete it. Literally. They're planning to deorbit it so it burns up on re-entry when it still has plenty of life left.

This isn't just bad science policy. It's a fundamental misunderstanding of how information works. You don't delete data because you don't like what it says. You analyze it. You challenge it. You try to understand it. But you don't throw it into the fire.

It happens in personal life too. Ever notice someone with a mysteriously empty text history? No messages older than a few days, no conversations saved? No browser history? It's usually not a good sign. Either they're hiding something, or they're so obsessed with control that even their past can't be allowed to exist unfiltered. (1) Either way, it's not a healthy relationship - with information or with people.

Same goes for fitness. I've had friends tell me they deleted their old food logs or weight entries because "those were bad weeks." But that's the whole point. Tracking only your best days isn't accountability - it's storytelling. And storytelling doesn't help you get stronger, eat smarter, or stay consistent. Progress is messy. That's why you track it.

Even in politics, you'll see attempts to erase, rewrite, or bury the past to make current decisions look better. That never ends well. The first thing authoritarian regimes try to do is rewrite the history books. Not just to clean up the past - but to control the present. Sometimes that means silencing watchdogs, gutting transparency, or even replacing the people in charge of collecting inconvenient facts. But shooting the messenger doesn't change the message. If the numbers are bad, you fix the policy - not the person reporting them. You don't fire the weather forecaster because you don't like the forecast. You bring an umbrella and figure out how to build better shelter. Ignoring the data doesn't protect you. It just makes sure you never see the storm coming.

And of course, Star Trek saw this coming. In the TNG episode "The Pegasus", Captain Picard discovers that his trusted first officer, Commander Riker, has been hiding details of an illegal and dangerous experiment from a past mission. Starfleet had buried the incident. Records were sealed. Details scrubbed. The official story didn't match the truth. And that truth nearly gets everyone killed. When Picard finds out, he's furious - not just about the experiment itself, but about the cover-up. "You don't hide from the truth," he tells Riker. "You face it. Even when it's ugly." That's what data is: the record of what actually happened. Bury it, and you lose the ability to learn from it.

Deleting data isn't just a technical decision. It's a philosophical one. Are you trying to understand the world? Or are you trying to curate a version of it that makes you feel more comfortable?

That choice shows up in Access databases, in scientific labs, in relationships, in fitness apps, and in bridge logs aboard the Enterprise.

So once again, for the people in the back: don't delete the data. Mark it inactive. Archive it. Filter it out if you need to. But don't pretend the past didn't happen.

That's how mistakes get repeated. That's how systems break down. That's how people start flying blind.

LLAP
RR

(1) And no, deleting your text history "to save memory" hasn't been a valid excuse since about 2004. Storage isn't the issue. It's the story you're trying to erase.