Chapter Six
Oh, the technophile/bibliophile "dichotomy." While Levy doesn't draw this out too much, I think it has to be said that there are very few people who think that one is always preferable over the other. Most people, I would hope, are rational enough to realize that there are some good uses for both. And I think this is where this argument really needs to head. Much like the ever-touted "nature/nurture" debate over traits in biology -- where the overwhelming majority of biologists now say it's the interaction of both -- this debate is a false dichotomy. To those who opine for the cuddly reading object in bed, then the book or magazine is the perfect choice, and should be left alone. For those who need an article for a paper NOW!!! before class, obviously the immediacy of a PDF file is more beneficial than having to wander into the stacks. This is a situation where I sit firmly on the fence, and I will remain there until it's torn down.
Chapter Seven
I got a kick out of this chapter. Melvil Dewey was quite the character, and it seems like he wanted to control absolutely everything he could. I wonder how much of this overall idea of anxiety is reflected in the creation of documents, as well -- this panic over not being able to speak after you die could very well have started the whole documentation procedure for businesses and governments that went along with the Industrial Revolution. Hell, I think writing itself is a reaction to that. Having a system, however imperfect, seems to ease this worry that people feel about their lives. Dewey was a genius to tap his own worries to give us a tool to organize documents, no matter how imperfect it may be (really, African literature with Chinese literature?). There's a lot to be said in praise of anxiety as a creative force.
Chapter Eight
I definitely dig the idea of the impermanence, the ephemeral nature, of digital documents. I think it's a real worry to a lot of people that, if we digitize everything and don't have paper copies, too, we may lose a lot of research, information, and creative works because the media used for storage are not the most reliable. I think that as people become more familiar with digital media and the concepts behind their use (and there's a big debate in my mind, at least, as to whether this will ever actually happen), they will see that it can't ever be an issue as to whether we're going to lose everything. It's a matter of being willing to keep multiple "tokens" of a "type." We're gonna have paper still, but we're also going to have HTML copies, and PDF copies, and they're going to be stored on hard drives, and flash drives, and disks, and tape, and whatever, ad infinitum, because of stability, yes, but also because the user drives this whole thing. Some people really like microfiche, for some reason, so there are still places that'll put stuff on microfiche for your viewing pleasure. It's a matter of being willing to accept the new and keep the old -- as long as they're both essentially good ideas.
Oh, the technophile/bibliophile "dichotomy." While Levy doesn't draw this out too much, I think it has to be said that there are very few people who think that one is always preferable over the other. Most people, I would hope, are rational enough to realize that there are some good uses for both. And I think this is where this argument really needs to head. Much like the ever-touted "nature/nurture" debate over traits in biology -- where the overwhelming majority of biologists now say it's the interaction of both -- this debate is a false dichotomy. To those who opine for the cuddly reading object in bed, then the book or magazine is the perfect choice, and should be left alone. For those who need an article for a paper NOW!!! before class, obviously the immediacy of a PDF file is more beneficial than having to wander into the stacks. This is a situation where I sit firmly on the fence, and I will remain there until it's torn down.
Chapter Seven
I got a kick out of this chapter. Melvil Dewey was quite the character, and it seems like he wanted to control absolutely everything he could. I wonder how much of this overall idea of anxiety is reflected in the creation of documents, as well -- this panic over not being able to speak after you die could very well have started the whole documentation procedure for businesses and governments that went along with the Industrial Revolution. Hell, I think writing itself is a reaction to that. Having a system, however imperfect, seems to ease this worry that people feel about their lives. Dewey was a genius to tap his own worries to give us a tool to organize documents, no matter how imperfect it may be (really, African literature with Chinese literature?). There's a lot to be said in praise of anxiety as a creative force.
Chapter Eight
I definitely dig the idea of the impermanence, the ephemeral nature, of digital documents. I think it's a real worry to a lot of people that, if we digitize everything and don't have paper copies, too, we may lose a lot of research, information, and creative works because the media used for storage are not the most reliable. I think that as people become more familiar with digital media and the concepts behind their use (and there's a big debate in my mind, at least, as to whether this will ever actually happen), they will see that it can't ever be an issue as to whether we're going to lose everything. It's a matter of being willing to keep multiple "tokens" of a "type." We're gonna have paper still, but we're also going to have HTML copies, and PDF copies, and they're going to be stored on hard drives, and flash drives, and disks, and tape, and whatever, ad infinitum, because of stability, yes, but also because the user drives this whole thing. Some people really like microfiche, for some reason, so there are still places that'll put stuff on microfiche for your viewing pleasure. It's a matter of being willing to accept the new and keep the old -- as long as they're both essentially good ideas.
posted by Julia Faith | 10:14 AM
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