Oil, Books and Short hand
by thesociallubricant
I have an addiction to buying books. Few bookstores I’ve entered have ever not been the recipient of my hard earned cash and despite me being labeled a pessimist I fear for our world without books made of paper and binding. I have been trying to get to the bottom of this belief I hold so dearly that the digital age versus the age of paper will slowly turn us into androids, if we’re not already. I’m not void of reason and understand the arguments for kindles: portability, accessibility to books, and a wealth of knowledge at the tap of a button.What I have concluded in my search for understanding my own conviction is that I fear for the next generation. I worry for the Millennial’s who will grow up reading from computers screens in classrooms and typing out every note instead of handwriting it.Will the written word executed by pen and paper become completely obsolete? How tragic for children not to learn how to write cursive in between the lines and pass love notes in class because it’s a paperless desk. The crux of the issue for me is our loss of sensuousness and therefore a little bit of our humanity by engaging solely in machines. Our sense of touch when we flip pages will be limited to scrolling on a screen, our sense of grasping knowledge by writing shorthand on paper during classes will be usurped by keyboards and then what? I do not pretend to understand the ramifications (especially as I sit here and post something on a blog) but I know that one day the joy of seeing children running around in playgrounds will be taken over by a robot and his mechanical toys. Maybe I am a pessimist but I am fairly certain I saw a child queuing at the mechanics to change the oil in his legs.
The Social Lubricant 
What an excellent blog. Literally says everything I think but will never be articulate enough to say!!
I hate kindles and though like you I understand why people have them, I don’t think I can every bring myself to own one!!
It extends to things like kids preferring to play computer games than going outside to play or down the park. No wonder we get so many fatties these days!!!
Agreed on every count. Speaking as someone who has just spent another £25 on books I think Kindles suck (I hope ‘suck’ isn’t an ‘Americanism’ cos they suck too !)….and they don’t have page numbers either. The bitter divide that my father buying a kindle has evoked in the aged p’s house is something to behold. Closest they have come to divorce in 60 years of marriage ! Question though…how should we recycle paperbacks ? Bringing them to work just seems to pile them up here. Perhaps I have mistakenly assumed my colleagues can read ? I have taken to leaving them on the train, with a note attached saying ‘pass it on’
I like the train idea. You can also keep them for the next few years and rent them to kids who have never seen a book in thier life? I am glad I have some support on this!
I am thinking to get a kindle but don’t think it will ever stop me from buying books. Maybe I am just saying it now, that I haven’t got the kindle yet..
Careful Stela….it is the slippery slope. Robots next.
Oh no, we don’t like robots. Sorry, Kindle – I’ve been talked out of it! Let’s print, print, print.. Hang on a second, this can’t be good for the environment.. Ok, I guess we are back to Kindle..
The environment is a good argument but would you like to give birth to a mechanical baby? It would be very painful 🙂
Definitely no Kindle for me now..