Having recently become an owner of an iPod touch in a futile attempt to satiate my geek thing (I have been found drooling and incomprehensible in the Apple store in George Street once or twice before), I have happily wasted many an hour prodding and cooing said device. I won't go into the details of what the little package of joy can and can't do as I fear that would probably lull any readers of this blog into a coma induced state they may very well never recover from. Instead, there is something else worth a bit of a think about.
When one takes stock of their lives, I think it's a good idea to consider the gifts they have received. No, I'm not talking about the birthday and Christmas gifts, I'm talking about things that were received that have been and will be invaluable every day of one's life. For me one gift stands out, that of being taught to read and write. Ofcourse, I didn't properly recognise it at the time but the years of work that were invested in me simply so I could take part in written communication are now cherished, and I couldn't imagine life without it. I think of the books I've read, the instructions I've been given, the letters I've received (joyous and with the occasional heartbreak), and the crap I've written and it's clear to me that written words are like a symphony. Beautiful, ugly, uplifting, depressing, hopeful and discouraging.
Where's all this going? Well, one function of my little iPod is that of an e-book reader. This is not groundbreaking as there are many such devices (including the computer I write this on) that can handle such a task. I find it interesting though the possibility of now moving away from paper books to an electronic version. The experiment has already been proven a success with downloaded music, and although CD sales will probably continue, there is no doubt that the market segment is getting smaller as people discover the convenience. I think there is a strong possibility that e-books are going to gradually eat into the paperbook market if they haven't already taken a big chomp.
Is this a cause for concern? No. Regardless of the medium with which we receive our written words they are still as powerful. The importance is in what they mean to us, what emotions they stir and our personal interpretations of them not of what the paper feels like between our fingers or the aesthetics of the cover art. In fact, it represents an opportunity for us to access more great literature than any of us will ever be able to read in a lifetime, a sea of idea's and understandings we can plunge into just about whenever we like.
There is just one other thing. What about those folk who collect books that they read once and then "display" in cabinets in their homes to impress visitors? You don't quite get the same effect with a shiny iPod on the shelf, and a shelf full of shiny iPods is very expensive and kind of ridiculous. The extinction of snobbery in literature may be a pleasant fringe benefit!
Love the technology but on the book front I think I'll remain very much a paper kid. I find reading from screens harsh on the eyes after sitting in front of a PC all day.
ReplyDeleteYes that's a problem they haven't entirely overcome. It's getting better though, and talk of "electronic paper" is encouraging.
ReplyDeleteThere is something so satisfying about stuffing a fat novel into your beach bag between towel and sunscreen. The slimline touchy-feely will only ever do for music with me, I'm afraid. As for the appreciation of the gifts that keep on giving - hear, hear!
ReplyDeleteTrue. And the novel never has a flat battery. But... *breaking into song*.... the times they are a-changing.
ReplyDeleteThe diminishing (or is that dimming, by the flicker of the screen?) of the human intellect continuous apace, insidiously unseen and unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fact that people comprehend up to 40% less when reading from a screen, coupled with reading up to 30% or 40% more slowly. That gets compounded by the use of bad fonts that also diminish comprehension.
Nooooo.
I'll stick to hardcopy, especially for leisure.
It's bad enough having to spend my days in front of a screen knowing and seeing the poor quality output that results from others sloppy use of their tools - both their writing and decision making - all stemming from the technology upon which all business and government now relies.
The times might be changing, but people understand less and less.
Is comprehension really 40% down when read from a screen?? Not too sure about that. Perhaps a multimedia environment creates a sensory overload. I think there is evidence to suggest we are getting much more proficient in our use of electronic information mediums. Separating the wheat from the chaff so to speak.
ReplyDelete