An absolutely fantastic meta on the impact of letting paper books slip away on low-income families.
This is a really wonderful essay on why, although eBooks aren't bad, we can't assume that they'll replace books, and more importantly, we can't let the printed word slip away entirely. She does a wonderful job talking about why they're good, but why they can't be relied on and why it can't be assumed that everyone has access to one.
( "A Digital Divide" )
"Do I sound pessimistic? That's because I am. When I was a kid with
nothing, any nice thing I had the audacity to have would be quickly
stolen, either by people just as poor as I was, or by richer kids who
wanted me to know that I wasn't allowed to put on airs like that. If my
books had been virtual, then those people would have been stealing my
entire world. They would have been stealing my exit. And I don't think
I would have survived."
Personally, I simply do not think eReaders will replace the written word and all the hype is really unnecessary. Sure, a lot of bookstores are closing, but the economy is also really bad right now. A lot of buisinesses are suffering and we don't exactly live in the most intellectulaly-oriented country on Earth. People said the same thing about radio, TV, and audiobooks. I don't like all the paranoid anti-technology hype any more than I like the idea of the printed word going away, because all it tells me is that people don't understand the economics or the nature of technology in our lives.
It's like the people that say one day our robots might rise against us --- it just happens to be something that won't actually happen, and if you know anything about how a robot is put together or programming, you know it won't happen. I see strong anti-technology and anti-science undertones in the eReader argument, and it's sad to see people that supposedly appreciate books and learning so ready to wallow in their own ignorance with regards to technology and science. The entire thing bothers me; they don't want books to disappear, they want eReaders to disappear...despite the fact that that's a huge step backwards in availability for some people? Despite the fact that the technology used to create that eReader is just as much a symbol of human knowledge and achievement as the ideas inside a book? It's only a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from the "god's will" argument that people toss around with regards to contraceptives and other medicines.
And if I hear "Fahrenheit 451" quoted incorrectly one more time I might actually pimp smack someone.
( "A Digital Divide" )
"Do I sound pessimistic? That's because I am. When I was a kid with
nothing, any nice thing I had the audacity to have would be quickly
stolen, either by people just as poor as I was, or by richer kids who
wanted me to know that I wasn't allowed to put on airs like that. If my
books had been virtual, then those people would have been stealing my
entire world. They would have been stealing my exit. And I don't think
I would have survived."
Personally, I simply do not think eReaders will replace the written word and all the hype is really unnecessary. Sure, a lot of bookstores are closing, but the economy is also really bad right now. A lot of buisinesses are suffering and we don't exactly live in the most intellectulaly-oriented country on Earth. People said the same thing about radio, TV, and audiobooks. I don't like all the paranoid anti-technology hype any more than I like the idea of the printed word going away, because all it tells me is that people don't understand the economics or the nature of technology in our lives.
It's like the people that say one day our robots might rise against us --- it just happens to be something that won't actually happen, and if you know anything about how a robot is put together or programming, you know it won't happen. I see strong anti-technology and anti-science undertones in the eReader argument, and it's sad to see people that supposedly appreciate books and learning so ready to wallow in their own ignorance with regards to technology and science. The entire thing bothers me; they don't want books to disappear, they want eReaders to disappear...despite the fact that that's a huge step backwards in availability for some people? Despite the fact that the technology used to create that eReader is just as much a symbol of human knowledge and achievement as the ideas inside a book? It's only a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from the "god's will" argument that people toss around with regards to contraceptives and other medicines.
And if I hear "Fahrenheit 451" quoted incorrectly one more time I might actually pimp smack someone.