Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
He's talking about the alleged superiority of paper as a book medium, and believes that paper has a level of permanence that he believes is not available with ebooks.
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Well, which would you rather accidentally drop in the toilet? (Not that I have done that often; I've done it once which was QUITE ENOUGH and I never was able to bring myself to touch that book again...)
Ebooks and paper books both have advantages and paper books have the advantage of not needing technology to decode and, *depending on the storage, handling, and quality of paper used* may last anywhere from 1 day to several hundred years, which is certainly a mixed advantage. And yes, I have handled a book from the 1400s, under careful supervision of a rare books specialist--and dropped a (completely different paperback) book into the toilet the day after I bought it
But I digressed and am editing to finish up--I think a good mix of electronic and print for books is healthy, and spreads out the risk. Even libraries, who are rightly cautious about getting things that will last as long as possible and being good stewards of taxpayer funds are investing in both these days.