Hw #2 On Next Mondays Readings =)

During the readings and discussions in class I found the article “Getting Started: The Technologies Behind the web” very interesting. It compared the differances between the process of creating a book in comparison to creating a webpage. I found this very interesting because of the question it ended up posing to me. Is it better to have the ability to create limitless digital pages of all differant types of information for all demographics that is at zero risk of physical injury or is it better to have an item that you can physically hold in your hands that cannot be lost, that has been (bound or folded etc.) creating an object exactly for the purpose of sharing information with you in personal way. Is it better to have to carry a tablet, laptop, or iphone? Or is it better to have the more personal experiance of a book? Many people have been arguing the pros and cons of this debate since the invention of such devices. Some “oldschoolers” have argued things such as “There is no comparison to holding a book in your hand.” and other more modern thinkers argue ideas such as “Products such as the kindle can provide a similar experiance to reading a book but can also provide the ablility to store books so that you have a variety of options to read while only carrying one device.”

In my personal opinion I think that there is nothing better than a real solid book in my hands. Yes, they are more prone to risk of physical damage, but the devices such as the e-reader and laptop are just as much at risk for physical damage as a book, if not more. If you get a book wet it may shrivel the ink may fade, but it will dry and most likely survive the tragedy. On the other hand if you get a laptop wet, every single file that is on that device, unless it is backed up elsewhere is then forever lost to a damp hardrive. Yes, books have typos and once printed they are “fixed” in time never to be changed, but isn’t that beautiful in a way because typos are not the only thing fixed when a book is printed the work itself is as well. Every word that is not a typo is fixed in time. I hope that our culture does not go from valuing ancient documents like the declaration of independance, and the rosetta stone, to valuing old ancient floppy disks and harddrives that have copies of those on them. Where is the warmth and feel of the culture in that experiance?

I absolutely find value in technology please do not misunderstand. I would not know how to get where I am going half the time with out my wonderful british global positioning system and cellular phone, but the experiance of a book and the experiance of it’s digital alterego are just two completely different things. Both have their pros and both have their cons, but in the end I am an “oldschooler”.

Over the course of this semester I would love to learn about subjects such as Constantine and his empire, Cleopatra and her reign in Egypt and of course the history of the Digital era and how it has made differances the everyday lives of people around the world.

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