Hi. Welcome to the blog for my IB English B class at Jur Hronec High School in Bratislava, Slovakia. Below you will find links to other websites and discussion questions. My students are required to comment on one of these postings every month and also respond to each other's comments. Feel free to add your two bits, but be aware that all comments are monitored before being posted.
Are you attracted to non-digital film, books and
music?What do you think of the
author’s explanation for why old technologies like these are making a
comeback?Will the comeback
continue?Why or why not?
Firstly, I want to say that I like to read ordinary paper books more than the digital ones on e-book readers and I can't imagine a world without them. When I was a child, I remember how fascinated I was when I could have flipped a page or pat an animal in the picture. Sometimes I even drew something into them. My parents weren't happy about it but today it's a nice memory from my childhood.
That's why I don't agree with James Daunt's opinion that people want to read digitally. There's a special energy coming from the book that makes the reading more intense, and that all can't be faked. Digital books can be enjoyed by reading, but only by reading. Yes, reading is the most important part, however with the paper book you can intensify the feeling also with other senses. You see them, hold them, but also can smell or taste them. But with e-book readers you don't have this possibility. I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels that way. On the other hand, I like what Sam Husain said. 'People still like to shop online, but there's nothing like being in the book shop.' It's true that when you buy books online you don't need to go anywhere and get all the books you want. When going to the bookshop you can't be sure that they have the book you are dying to read. But still, you walk there between lot of different books and might end up reading even better one. Also when you're done reading a book you can borrow it to someone or give it to library. That means the book can still say its great story to someone else, not just be stuck in your reader or even deleted.
However, I have to say that I think people in the future will be slowly forgetting about 'real books'. Whether I like it or not, technology is developing and making our lives easier. With e-book readers we don't have to worry about how many books we can pack with us on holiday so that our luggage won't be heavy, we don't have to deal with the problems like where to put all the books we have read. And most importantly, we can have all our books stored in one place and be able to easily carry them with us everywhere.
To conclude, I don't think that the comeback will continue. I think that the next generations will be staring into their e-book readers. Unfortunatelly for them, they will be deprived of the magic feeling an ordinary book is able to give us. I'm just happy, I'm not one of them.
So as Rebeka and Matúš, I am also happy I had a childhood without all the technologies. It was also nice to find out that I am not the only one who shares the opinion of the writer, that there is something more in the books and I agree that each book you have read has its soul and they carry all the emotions you felt when you were reading every single word from the book.
However, I do not think that Rebeka was right when she said that the comeback of the books will not continue. In my opinion, it is partially about the fashion. Nowadays, all the retro and hipster stuff is fashionable and the books are kind of retro too, so they are popular now. Sometime in the future, when retro will not by fashionable anymore, the popularity of the books may decrease but I am sure there will be enough readers who prefer paper books to e-books, and they will encourage their children to read those books, and they will buy them new ones and in the end, the paper books will be here forever.
Moreover, I agree with Matúš’s opinion that there are books which are better to be read online, but in fact, you do not expect any special emotion from a scientific book or a dictionary. Indeed, the online dictionaries are more practical than the paper ones. Nevertheless, when it comes to the books that are supposed to take you to the world of a fantasy or a sweet romance, it is definitely better to have the paper book.
Dr. Evans said that “Modern gadgets are designed not to betray the imperfect physical nature of their workings. That is a shame, because imperfections are important in helping us to understand the world.” He said it in the connection with the radios but I think it can be applied also to the books. Of course that the pages will get yellow after some time, of course that they will be torn and maybe the letters will fade out… But those imperfections make the books wonderful and I cannot imagine a life without them.
First of all, I have to admit that I agree with Katka on several points. I see, as all of us, inluding the author, that the book possesses a certain exclusive quality we agreed to call “soul”. It is true, indeed, that you get a completely different feeling from reeding a real book, holding it with your hands, touching the page, folding and scribbling on the edges. I also found consensus with her on the points of nowadays fashion related to the book boom, but, unfortunately, I really don´t see the correlation between the points she made about paper books and their better “fantasy-world-immersing”. As far as this goes, I don´t think it is the case of substantiality when it goes down to story immersing. I think it is the story itself, the words, sentences and author´s own ideas that make you feel like you are in a different reality. The fact that you are holding a kindle or a real book is quite marginal when you are in the middle of a tense fighting scene or a pre-kiss description. So sometimes it is more about the content, but I do agree, to some extent, that real books and old devices have something worth preserving.
At first, I need to admit I am not a fan of all that e-stuff. It makes me happy that the future visions of disappearance of paper books from 1990s have not fulfilled. At least up to now. I feel reading paper books the same way as Rebeka and I agree with the article in the point that books have something like a soul. They are richer in something what is hardly describable. They have something more in themselves which any other forms of written texts miss. There is nothing better than the comfortable touch and the smell of a yellowish recycled paper. The paper containing all of the world’s fantasy, wisdom, feelings, creativity, imagination... While I see only letters on a screen in an e-book. Yes, I am quite conservative about this. Moreover, a book can be given with a message, with love or on the special occasion. It can pass from generation to generation and put on value, gain the spirit. Really, coping and transferring files cannot be even compared to this. It is the same with photographs. I always feel a sort of energy flowing from the black-and-white framed photos of my great-grandparents hanging from the wall of their house. It is all because they are unique and very personal. There exist only one piece hung in only one place. I see a piece of history in them: stains, fade from the sun, year and the signature on the back, a story of one life. On the other hand, on the computer the photographs never get old, we can make dozens of copies, alter, crop or retouch them as we wish. In addition, books keep it simple, which is quite important because nowadays young people, especially children, are becoming more and more impatient and inattentive that they can hardly focus on one sort of a thing. In my opinion one of the reasons is also electronic devices which light, flash, emit sounds, do more actions at once, play music, games, count maths, speak and instantly grab our attention. But when you hold “only” a book you can fully immerse yourself into the storyline and enjoy it without being constantly pulled away from your thoughts by dozens of other stuff provided by modern Kindles and tablets. In conclusion, it would be great if Rebeka was not right and the era of books in their original form lasted for many more decades. But who knows what will next generations and the technology bring. Maybe they will enjoy e-books the same way as we now enjoy paper books. But only in the case e-book readers smelled like paper.
My genuine feelings about e-books are exactly the same as Heňo´s. I consider them a mere faded image of an actual book, a travesty indeed, because – as everyone in these comments mentioned – a book is far more than just the text it carries.
However in today´s world, I am clearly led to only one solution. And both, Rebeka and Heňo have already claimed it. Books will disappear. Photographs that Heňo mentioned are a very nice and fitting analogy to books, and guess what. They also are a nice case of future pushing out old dusty past. Sure, photos in hand are much nicer and have a much higher emotional value than photos in a computer, nevertheless, today, all of us mainly use photographs in their digital form.
Paradoxically, as Heňo further noted, simplicity is the key - although not in books´ favour. What we, traditionalists, keep nicely ignored is that e-books actually are the simpler equivalent. As mentioned in the article, “a slim, 170-gram Kindle could store hundreds of books...” and that is, ladies and gentlemen, the reason why books will, really, unfortunately, disappear. Because in today´s world people seek, above all, simplicity. Simplicity in storage place, simplicity in transport, simplicity in organization, in form...
And this has nothing to do with nowadays generation not enjoying striding between loads of books in antique bookshops, smell of books, feeling they give or them being continuously distracted. It is all due to the evolution of technology. These are the unstoppable wheels that simply cannot be stopped by an insignificant hindrance of a few “hipsters” buying Polaroids and vinyl records.
Books, vinyls, Polaroids. When I see these words together, the first words that come to my mind are HIPSTERS and CONSUMERISM.
First of all, I have to say, to me this article does not seem very applicable to Slovakia. Honestly, I have not noticed any kind of sale decrease in the book business, although, I would blame the conspicuous backwardness of our country for it. But I can imagine this subject being common in the western world, even though, I assume it cannot have lasted too long, as it cannot require too much time for the whole population to buy an e-book reader. What I am trying to say is that during those three years which Mr. Daunt started off by "our readers want to read digitally", the sales of e-book readers were apparently very high, however, those three years were just enough for every customer to get one for themselves and then suddenly they found themselves not buying anything. Nevertheless, the nature of a human personality to own as many things as possible forced them to come back to the shop and start spending more, to buy "materials" to fulfill their materialistic needs. Of course books possess those special traits which enchant people mentioned by my colleagues above, but deep in our minds, we are very strongly affected by consumerism and by those superior figures which regulate the market and select which goods we, the consumers, will buy by constantly throwing those goods in our faces and advertising them infinitely. I suppose they chose those three years for e-book readers and now books are returning to the market and becoming a centre of attention as much as possible. We are just puppets and sources of income and whether you believe it or not, psychology is a very powerful and important science in business and could talk about this subject for hours.
Second of all, my second idea lies at the base of "the big buyers are teenagers". Hipsters, to be precise. Those are the youngsters who somehow developed a liking for vintage stuff like vinyls and Polaroid cameras. And the biggest advantage of having customers this young is that once someone gets a Polaroid, all the friends who surround them get really excited about it and at last come to a certain point when they just buy it. Just to be cool. To equalize with their friends. And it goes the same with the vinyls. They are trying to buy objects which are special and old, so that they can differ from the other people. However, both vinyls and Polaroids made at this time are modified, renovated and the appearance and the final action and function are the only resemblance to the old ones. So I do not regard this as a kind of a throwback and comeback of the history, but just mastering the present, so that it looks vintage. And again the idea of materialism can be applied to this case as well, people want everything that is cool and new and special because they just cannot fall behind with the whole world. When talking about the old phones which are supposed to "actually do what phones used to do", I personally do not believe in their innocence, hence nowadays technologies are so advanced that they can still track your every move without you knowing it.
Last of all, I absolutely fancy the idea of Matus's thinking about saving the environment, mostly with the statement "books that are not read for pleasure like textbooks should be published mainly in the digital form". This idea should be spread around the whole world and may once become widely spoken and realised subject. When it comes to the future of books, the most important thing is that it comes from the inside of us. And if we want our ancestors to read physical books, we should be the ones who conduct the idea and lead them to the idea from the earliest age possible. Honestly, I doubt that in the near future there will be a complete withdrawal of books from the market because those books will always be here, but might lose appeal. And as I said, it all comes from the depths of our hearts if we will fight hard enough to keep them. And from the puppeteers, indeed.
What about my opinion on this topic, basically I agree with others. To be more proper, I think that books for pleasure are better to be read in physical form and text books in a digital one. Regarding to Janka’s ideas, I like their originality and I like that she sees these things in a different light. Mainly I sympathize with there is a big influence of consumerism and psychology involved in this issue. There are other good remarks like for instance that it was just a boom with e-books, that the commerce is just messing around with us or that teenagers want the modern things so they are not backward compared to their friends. These things are also very important when discussing problem of this nature. Nevertheless, saying that books are not ecological is at least excessive. Although it is nice idea to save environment by not making so many books, it is not essential. It is the truth of course that trees are needed for a production of books and also the books need to be transported, but you definitely cannot say that books cause deforestation or pollution. The main reason of deforestation is that people need land so they can use it for fields, thus they often burn the trees so they have enough space for living. We should see things as they are. It is the same with pollution. We would do better if we did not blame essential transport for it, but tried to focus on unnecessary polluting by thermal power-plants.
Allow me to react on two digitalized items mentioned in the article- books and cameras.
Concerning books, I am pretty sure that a part of literature in physical form will soon disappear, which goes along with my conviction that people won’t forget about reading for pleasure completely. As the article itself, and also all of my classmates mentioned, a book in physical form has its ‘soul’, and I am not trying to disagree, because an e-book certainly doesn’t. However, I see digital future in nonfiction, and the reason why is simple. The primary purpose of this kind of literature is to provide its reader with facts only. There is no time for reading for pleasure, and there wasn’t meant to be any. Reader just wants to receive the facts as soon as possible to learn the information needed. An ideal nonfiction book should then be wide enough to cover the topic, but at the same time clear enough to find requested information quickly. Subsequently, people came up with ‘magical ctrl+f” key combination, which quickens and streamlines the search. However, in the case of beletry, there is no need to look for particular information- a person just goes through a book from the beginning to the very end, therefore, digitalization loses its purpose here. Someone can argue that an e-book does offer quantity of space in a single device. Yes. However it seems to me that people are likely to stand carrying a book at the expense of having real pleasure of reading. On the other hand, with constant dynamics in technologies, maybe we will soon experience something like e-transmission of material and texture that would allow us to actually feel the digital book as the “real” one.
Secondly, people dispone with 5 senses that didn’t just happen accidentally to us. Omitting any of them is possible, however, not completely replaceable. Imagine tasting food without the ability to smell it, see it or even feel it in your mouth. Would the general enjoyment be fulfilled? Probably not, and the same applies for photography. As Mr. O’Hanlon mentions, “People love the tangibility”. And not only that. People love to hear the sound of the traditional shutter click, not the “artificial” one. They also enjoy holding a photo in their hands. Yes, it definitely is possible to print out a photo from digital camera, but here comes the second thing. If a person is keen on photography, he probably feels more satisfactory with a single shot that came out well, than one preceded by 30 test attempts. This is the magic that analogue cameras and polaroids can offer. Additionally, this uniqueness is not disadvantaged by the quality of photos as analogues can even shoot photos of better quality than some digital SLRs.
In conclusion, the world’s unstoppable technological advance is revolutionary but truly outrageous. It moves mankind constantly forward, but sometimes regardless of our principles and essence. The arrival of e-books or digital cameras really represented a huge step forward, but isn’t the loss of authentic touch too much? Are we ready to give it up?
Firstly, I need to say that Matus has introduced a new and interesting opinion which I did not think about before. Rebeka and I took it more emotionally, but Matus more rationally. I agree that a lot of trees are being cut down in order to produce paper. However, nearly all books without pictures (e.g. novels, not encyclopaedia) are nowadays being printed on the recycled paper. There are also many libraries, so the books are not kept by just one owner but they can be shared and “reused”. Moreover, the trees are being cut down not only to produce paper, but also fuel, furniture, building materials or to create a new agricultural land. From all these wood products, paper can be easily recycled, furniture and building materials cannot. On the other hand, Matus has a good point that there are also other ecological pros of e-books as eliminating the pollution from transport and lowering the energy consumption and usage of wrapping materials. Additionally, I think the majority of e-books are not for free. People need to buy them online or in the bookshops for a price little bit lower than paper books. I do not say there are not thousands of then on the internet portals for free, but according to the law it is illegal to download these copies (I do not mean these which are officially free). In conclusion, I see the impact of a book industry on the environment but there are many other environmental problems we should deal with. If the books are printed on the recycled paper and passed from one person to another I do not see any big threat to our planet in them.
Firstly, I want to say that I like to read ordinary paper books more than the digital ones on e-book readers and I can't imagine a world without them. When I was a child, I remember how fascinated I was when I could have flipped a page or pat an animal in the picture. Sometimes I even drew something into them. My parents weren't happy about it but today it's a nice memory from my childhood.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I don't agree with James Daunt's opinion that people want to read digitally. There's a special energy coming from the book that makes the reading more intense, and that all can't be faked. Digital books can be enjoyed by reading, but only by reading. Yes, reading is the most important part, however with the paper book you can intensify the feeling also with other senses. You see them, hold them, but also can smell or taste them. But with e-book readers you don't have this possibility. I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels that way. On the other hand, I like what Sam Husain said. 'People still like to shop online, but there's nothing like being in the book shop.' It's true that when you buy books online you don't need to go anywhere and get all the books you want. When going to the bookshop you can't be sure that they have the book you are dying to read. But still, you walk there between lot of different books and might end up reading even better one. Also when you're done reading a book you can borrow it to someone or give it to library. That means the book can still say its great story to someone else, not just be stuck in your reader or even deleted.
However, I have to say that I think people in the future will be slowly forgetting about 'real books'. Whether I like it or not, technology is developing and making our lives easier. With e-book readers we don't have to worry about how many books we can pack with us on holiday so that our luggage won't be heavy, we don't have to deal with the problems like where to put all the books we have read. And most importantly, we can have all our books stored in one place and be able to easily carry them with us everywhere.
To conclude, I don't think that the comeback will continue. I think that the next generations will be staring into their e-book readers. Unfortunatelly for them, they will be deprived of the magic feeling an ordinary book is able to give us. I'm just happy, I'm not one of them.
Rebeka Zanechalova, 3.A
So as Rebeka and Matúš, I am also happy I had a childhood without all the technologies. It was also nice to find out that I am not the only one who shares the opinion of the writer, that there is something more in the books and I agree that each book you have read has its soul and they carry all the emotions you felt when you were reading every single word from the book.
DeleteHowever, I do not think that Rebeka was right when she said that the comeback of the books will not continue. In my opinion, it is partially about the fashion. Nowadays, all the retro and hipster stuff is fashionable and the books are kind of retro too, so they are popular now. Sometime in the future, when retro will not by fashionable anymore, the popularity of the books may decrease but I am sure there will be enough readers who prefer paper books to e-books, and they will encourage their children to read those books, and they will buy them new ones and in the end, the paper books will be here forever.
Moreover, I agree with Matúš’s opinion that there are books which are better to be read online, but in fact, you do not expect any special emotion from a scientific book or a dictionary. Indeed, the online dictionaries are more practical than the paper ones. Nevertheless, when it comes to the books that are supposed to take you to the world of a fantasy or a sweet romance, it is definitely better to have the paper book.
Dr. Evans said that “Modern gadgets are designed not to betray the imperfect physical nature of their workings. That is a shame, because imperfections are important in helping us to understand the world.” He said it in the connection with the radios but I think it can be applied also to the books. Of course that the pages will get yellow after some time, of course that they will be torn and maybe the letters will fade out… But those imperfections make the books wonderful and I cannot imagine a life without them.
This is from Mata Sabova:
DeleteFirst of all, I have to admit that I agree with Katka on several points. I see, as all of us, inluding the author, that the book possesses a certain exclusive quality we agreed to call “soul”. It is true, indeed, that you get a completely different feeling from reeding a real book, holding it with your hands, touching the page, folding and scribbling on the edges. I also found consensus with her on the points of nowadays fashion related to the book boom, but, unfortunately, I really don´t see the correlation between the points she made about paper books and their better “fantasy-world-immersing”. As far as this goes, I don´t think it is the case of substantiality when it goes down to story immersing. I think it is the story itself, the words, sentences and author´s own ideas that make you feel like you are in a different reality. The fact that you are holding a kindle or a real book is quite marginal when you are in the middle of a tense fighting scene or a pre-kiss description. So sometimes it is more about the content, but I do agree, to some extent, that real books and old devices have something worth preserving.
At first, I need to admit I am not a fan of all that e-stuff. It makes me happy that the future visions of disappearance of paper books from 1990s have not fulfilled. At least up to now.
ReplyDeleteI feel reading paper books the same way as Rebeka and I agree with the article in the point that books have something like a soul. They are richer in something what is hardly describable. They have something more in themselves which any other forms of written texts miss. There is nothing better than the comfortable touch and the smell of a yellowish recycled paper. The paper containing all of the world’s fantasy, wisdom, feelings, creativity, imagination... While I see only letters on a screen in an e-book. Yes, I am quite conservative about this.
Moreover, a book can be given with a message, with love or on the special occasion. It can pass from generation to generation and put on value, gain the spirit. Really, coping and transferring files cannot be even compared to this. It is the same with photographs. I always feel a sort of energy flowing from the black-and-white framed photos of my great-grandparents hanging from the wall of their house. It is all because they are unique and very personal. There exist only one piece hung in only one place. I see a piece of history in them: stains, fade from the sun, year and the signature on the back, a story of one life. On the other hand, on the computer the photographs never get old, we can make dozens of copies, alter, crop or retouch them as we wish.
In addition, books keep it simple, which is quite important because nowadays young people, especially children, are becoming more and more impatient and inattentive that they can hardly focus on one sort of a thing. In my opinion one of the reasons is also electronic devices which light, flash, emit sounds, do more actions at once, play music, games, count maths, speak and instantly grab our attention. But when you hold “only” a book you can fully immerse yourself into the storyline and enjoy it without being constantly pulled away from your thoughts by dozens of other stuff provided by modern Kindles and tablets.
In conclusion, it would be great if Rebeka was not right and the era of books in their original form lasted for many more decades. But who knows what will next generations and the technology bring. Maybe they will enjoy e-books the same way as we now enjoy paper books. But only in the case e-book readers smelled like paper.
My genuine feelings about e-books are exactly the same as Heňo´s. I consider them a mere faded image of an actual book, a travesty indeed, because – as everyone in these comments mentioned – a book is far more than just the text it carries.
DeleteHowever in today´s world, I am clearly led to only one solution. And both, Rebeka and Heňo have already claimed it. Books will disappear. Photographs that Heňo mentioned are a very nice and fitting analogy to books, and guess what. They also are a nice case of future pushing out old dusty past. Sure, photos in hand are much nicer and have a much higher emotional value than photos in a computer, nevertheless, today, all of us mainly use photographs in their digital form.
Paradoxically, as Heňo further noted, simplicity is the key - although not in books´ favour. What we, traditionalists, keep nicely ignored is that e-books actually are the simpler equivalent. As mentioned in the article, “a slim, 170-gram Kindle could store hundreds of books...” and that is, ladies and gentlemen, the reason why books will, really, unfortunately, disappear. Because in today´s world people seek, above all, simplicity. Simplicity in storage place, simplicity in transport, simplicity in organization, in form...
And this has nothing to do with nowadays generation not enjoying striding between loads of books in antique bookshops, smell of books, feeling they give or them being continuously distracted. It is all due to the evolution of technology. These are the unstoppable wheels that simply cannot be stopped by an insignificant hindrance of a few “hipsters” buying Polaroids and vinyl records.
Books, vinyls, Polaroids. When I see these words together, the first words that come to my mind are HIPSTERS and CONSUMERISM.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I have to say, to me this article does not seem very applicable to Slovakia. Honestly, I have not noticed any kind of sale decrease in the book business, although, I would blame the conspicuous backwardness of our country for it. But I can imagine this subject being common in the western world, even though, I assume it cannot have lasted too long, as it cannot require too much time for the whole population to buy an e-book reader. What I am trying to say is that during those three years which Mr. Daunt started off by "our readers want to read digitally", the sales of e-book readers were apparently very high, however, those three years were just enough for every customer to get one for themselves and then suddenly they found themselves not buying anything. Nevertheless, the nature of a human personality to own as many things as possible forced them to come back to the shop and start spending more, to buy "materials" to fulfill their materialistic needs. Of course books possess those special traits which enchant people mentioned by my colleagues above, but deep in our minds, we are very strongly affected by consumerism and by those superior figures which regulate the market and select which goods we, the consumers, will buy by constantly throwing those goods in our faces and advertising them infinitely. I suppose they chose those three years for e-book readers and now books are returning to the market and becoming a centre of attention as much as possible. We are just puppets and sources of income and whether you believe it or not, psychology is a very powerful and important science in business and could talk about this subject for hours.
Second of all, my second idea lies at the base of "the big buyers are teenagers". Hipsters, to be precise. Those are the youngsters who somehow developed a liking for vintage stuff like vinyls and Polaroid cameras. And the biggest advantage of having customers this young is that once someone gets a Polaroid, all the friends who surround them get really excited about it and at last come to a certain point when they just buy it. Just to be cool. To equalize with their friends. And it goes the same with the vinyls. They are trying to buy objects which are special and old, so that they can differ from the other people. However, both vinyls and Polaroids made at this time are modified, renovated and the appearance and the final action and function are the only resemblance to the old ones. So I do not regard this as a kind of a throwback and comeback of the history, but just mastering the present, so that it looks vintage. And again the idea of materialism can be applied to this case as well, people want everything that is cool and new and special because they just cannot fall behind with the whole world. When talking about the old phones which are supposed to "actually do what phones used to do", I personally do not believe in their innocence, hence nowadays technologies are so advanced that they can still track your every move without you knowing it.
Last of all, I absolutely fancy the idea of Matus's thinking about saving the environment, mostly with the statement "books that are not read for pleasure like textbooks should be published mainly in the digital form". This idea should be spread around the whole world and may once become widely spoken and realised subject. When it comes to the future of books, the most important thing is that it comes from the inside of us. And if we want our ancestors to read physical books, we should be the ones who conduct the idea and lead them to the idea from the earliest age possible. Honestly, I doubt that in the near future there will be a complete withdrawal of books from the market because those books will always be here, but might lose appeal. And as I said, it all comes from the depths of our hearts if we will fight hard enough to keep them. And from the puppeteers, indeed.
ReplyDeleteWhat about my opinion on this topic, basically I agree with others. To be more proper, I think that books for pleasure are better to be read in physical form and text books in a digital one.
DeleteRegarding to Janka’s ideas, I like their originality and I like that she sees these things in a different light. Mainly I sympathize with there is a big influence of consumerism and psychology involved in this issue. There are other good remarks like for instance that it was just a boom with e-books, that the commerce is just messing around with us or that teenagers want the modern things so they are not backward compared to their friends. These things are also very important when discussing problem of this nature.
Nevertheless, saying that books are not ecological is at least excessive. Although it is nice idea to save environment by not making so many books, it is not essential. It is the truth of course that trees are needed for a production of books and also the books need to be transported, but you definitely cannot say that books cause deforestation or pollution. The main reason of deforestation is that people need land so they can use it for fields, thus they often burn the trees so they have enough space for living. We should see things as they are. It is the same with pollution. We would do better if we did not blame essential transport for it, but tried to focus on unnecessary polluting by thermal power-plants.
Allow me to react on two digitalized items mentioned in the article- books and cameras.
ReplyDeleteConcerning books, I am pretty sure that a part of literature in physical form will soon disappear, which goes along with my conviction that people won’t forget about reading for pleasure completely. As the article itself, and also all of my classmates mentioned, a book in physical form has its ‘soul’, and I am not trying to disagree, because an e-book certainly doesn’t. However, I see digital future in nonfiction, and the reason why is simple. The primary purpose of this kind of literature is to provide its reader with facts only. There is no time for reading for pleasure, and there wasn’t meant to be any. Reader just wants to receive the facts as soon as possible to learn the information needed. An ideal nonfiction book should then be wide enough to cover the topic, but at the same time clear enough to find requested information quickly. Subsequently, people came up with ‘magical ctrl+f” key combination, which quickens and streamlines the search. However, in the case of beletry, there is no need to look for particular information- a person just goes through a book from the beginning to the very end, therefore, digitalization loses its purpose here. Someone can argue that an e-book does offer quantity of space in a single device. Yes. However it seems to me that people are likely to stand carrying a book at the expense of having real pleasure of reading. On the other hand, with constant dynamics in technologies, maybe we will soon experience something like e-transmission of material and texture that would allow us to actually feel the digital book as the “real” one.
Secondly, people dispone with 5 senses that didn’t just happen accidentally to us. Omitting any of them is possible, however, not completely replaceable. Imagine tasting food without the ability to smell it, see it or even feel it in your mouth. Would the general enjoyment be fulfilled? Probably not, and the same applies for photography. As Mr. O’Hanlon mentions, “People love the tangibility”. And not only that. People love to hear the sound of the traditional shutter click, not the “artificial” one. They also enjoy holding a photo in their hands. Yes, it definitely is possible to print out a photo from digital camera, but here comes the second thing. If a person is keen on photography, he probably feels more satisfactory with a single shot that came out well, than one preceded by 30 test attempts. This is the magic that analogue cameras and polaroids can offer. Additionally, this uniqueness is not disadvantaged by the quality of photos as analogues can even shoot photos of better quality than some digital SLRs.
In conclusion, the world’s unstoppable technological advance is revolutionary but truly outrageous. It moves mankind constantly forward, but sometimes regardless of our principles and essence. The arrival of e-books or digital cameras really represented a huge step forward, but isn’t the loss of authentic touch too much? Are we ready to give it up?
Firstly, I need to say that Matus has introduced a new and interesting opinion which I did not think about before. Rebeka and I took it more emotionally, but Matus more rationally. I agree that a lot of trees are being cut down in order to produce paper. However, nearly all books without pictures (e.g. novels, not encyclopaedia) are nowadays being printed on the recycled paper. There are also many libraries, so the books are not kept by just one owner but they can be shared and “reused”. Moreover, the trees are being cut down not only to produce paper, but also fuel, furniture, building materials or to create a new agricultural land. From all these wood products, paper can be easily recycled, furniture and building materials cannot.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Matus has a good point that there are also other ecological pros of e-books as eliminating the pollution from transport and lowering the energy consumption and usage of wrapping materials.
Additionally, I think the majority of e-books are not for free. People need to buy them online or in the bookshops for a price little bit lower than paper books. I do not say there are not thousands of then on the internet portals for free, but according to the law it is illegal to download these copies (I do not mean these which are officially free).
In conclusion, I see the impact of a book industry on the environment but there are many other environmental problems we should deal with. If the books are printed on the recycled paper and passed from one person to another I do not see any big threat to our planet in them.