Birkerts post
Hey everyone, just making my post on the Birkerts article that I said I was going to do on Friday, sorry it is so late, hope this is what I am supposed to be doing!
Firstly I would like to state how ironic it was reading this article on my computer, when the article is mainly about the fact that nobody reads books anymore and they just use their computers. Other than that I don't really know the point that the author is trying to get across. This article is like a desperate attempt to save something that cannot be saved. He talks about how many people don't read books anymore, and just get their information through the TV or their computers, but he contradicted himself in the article when he talked about the evolution of storytelling (verbal storytelling, the homer period; things finally getting written down; the written type, Gutenberg) so through evolution this is just the next step in the process. Change happens and people need to just acknowledge that fact and deal with it, if we didn't accept change then we would probably still be riding around horseback, or using asbestos in building material. Personally I enjoy reading books, and don't really like staring at my computer screen to read things, but if that is what is going to happen in the near future then I will accept it.
Firstly I would like to state how ironic it was reading this article on my computer, when the article is mainly about the fact that nobody reads books anymore and they just use their computers. Other than that I don't really know the point that the author is trying to get across. This article is like a desperate attempt to save something that cannot be saved. He talks about how many people don't read books anymore, and just get their information through the TV or their computers, but he contradicted himself in the article when he talked about the evolution of storytelling (verbal storytelling, the homer period; things finally getting written down; the written type, Gutenberg) so through evolution this is just the next step in the process. Change happens and people need to just acknowledge that fact and deal with it, if we didn't accept change then we would probably still be riding around horseback, or using asbestos in building material. Personally I enjoy reading books, and don't really like staring at my computer screen to read things, but if that is what is going to happen in the near future then I will accept it.
posted by Jeb at 8:08 PM
9 Comments:
I agree with you when you said that, "he contradicted himself in the article when he talked about the evolution of storytelling." Change is going to occur. Just like the invention of the printing press, advancements in technology will change how we as a society comprehends information. If we choose to accept the advancment of electronic books and media then so be it. You also made the comment that Birkerts cannot save what is not able to be saved. Again, it all comes down to our choice. If we think printed books are important then we will keep them. The professor in Birkerts paper in the beginning sold all of his books for a computer. He obviously felt that printed books do not have a place in the future. As a society we should choose to keep printed books. Long live printed books and the Dewey Decimal System!
I agree with you as well and I am not really understanding why this change is being made into such a bad thing by Birkert. I know that when a lot more books become posts on the computer, I personally will continue reading the book by holding it in my hand. Either way, this change might be inevitable but like the previous post says, it is up to us to make the decision if the book becomes extinct or not.
Ironically, I actually printed this article to read it, even before I knew what the subject of the article was. :) Like the previous posts, I also found it interesting that the author believes that "heading to the future also requires the destruction of tokens from the past." I don't think this is true. There are multiple ways to improve, and still make use of the past. Just like Brett_mc said, moving forward is a choice. If people choose the Internet over books, we should look at that as a great advancement and option, not as a downfall of technology.
I think that Birkets was kind of scared of technology. He looks at change as a burden and something to be worried about more than something to look forward to. If it wasn't for technology we wouldn't have any kind of media, or his precious books. I've noticed that older generations, people in their mid to late 50's haven't really grown up with the technology we have, such as cell phones and internet, and they seem to be afraid to learn how to use it. I think that we all need to learn how to embrace changes because things can't stay the same forever. We just need to know that this kind of thing has it's limits
Since reading this article, I've really decided that Birkerts is scared of anything that can be plugged in. As everyone has already stated, change is going to occur, and it's going to keep changing. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I want to focus on something else. I thought it was really lame of him to think that our generations don't appreciate quiet time, and that it's outrageous to even have music playing or a television on while doing other things. Could you tell me what the definition of "quiet time" is? To me, it's a time of relaxation. But obviously that changes from one person to the next. I have the t.v. on right now, and I can type out this response. When it comes down to it, we know how to multi task, and we know how to do it well. That doesn't mean that we're all going in a downward spiral towards idiocy.
He was definately on a strange tangent that I didn't follow. I understand his point about losing 'real' print, and having books become close to obsolete. But I honestly didn't understand the connection he made to libraries being like museums. Or even the comments about generations being able to 'deal with things.' I agree with what Ashley said that he's definately lame for thinking we do n't appreciate quiet time. Even though we often have many other things happening at once, doesn't mean we don't enjoy having some quiet time to ourselves. It also doesn't make us any less intelligent, or have worse diction because we use technology. I honestly feel like Birkerts was just afraid of how his precious little world was going to change in the future.
I would agree that reading this article online is terribly ironic. In fact, Birkerts would probably roll over in his grave if he knew that his literature was, in part, propelling the technological movement. Aside from that, I think that there is one question that needs to be raised... How much does technology aid learning. Birkerts spends his entire essay stating quite dramatically that technology will be the downfall of civilization. But could it be that the opposite is true? I believe that the ability to read literature online can only enhance the learning experience. In general, when a person reading a physical book/essay/newspaper/magazine, etc. comes across a word, person or concept that he/she does not understand, it would take a considerable amount of time to "fact check." Online, however, the information necessary to gain the full experience is at your fingertips, which I believe makes it more likely that the reader will do the research. Trust me, I'm not lobbying for books to be made completely obsolete; I guess I have just failed to see how this kind of advance can be bad overall.
I agree with the contradiction. But this is this man's profession to write and we all know that we don't care if there is change unless the change involves us or something personal to us. This is what he is passionate about and so the idea that yes he realizes there is change, but he is still so hesitant to deal with it because it is hitting home for him. But change will happen and we all at some point or another will have to accept that we are progressing.
This article was pretty interesting and I found it so true. Especially now with professors putting most of their reading material online so that all the students can access it. However, I do find that we are loosing a certain culture there is to having a book and reading. When you have an actual book, you can take it anywhere and read it peacefully. Through a computer, you have multiple distractions, such as music, AIM and maybe surfing on the web. I hope we can still 'save' our printed books. Becuase when I'm older I can't imagine bringing my laptop into my child's room and read them a bedtime story off my computer.
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