Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Abe
There is a disturbing trend in libraries that offer more audio editions of a book than ebook versions.
|
Of course, it is not the library's fault.
Almost all bestsellers are available for purchase as CD audiobooks. And libraries can buy all of them. Only a portion are available as library eBooks.
I look for books a lot at search.overdrive.com, and repeatedly see recent popular titles that are audio-only. Older titles are more likely to be eBook-only.
Quote:
|
A well-educated person should be able to read at least 10,000 books in a lifetime.
|
This is arbitrary, and I don't see what that has to do with being well-educated. Maybe being well-educated leads one to read more challenging books that take longer to finish.
Unless medical science makes some truly spectacular advances, I can't see myself making your number. I can't believe more than a tiny portion of humanity has ever read that many books, especially if they kept up to date by reading newspapers and other periodicals. It would be disturbing to me if I found my family doc was reading at that rate, since there is no time to read all those books, plus keep up with medical journals.
Quote:
|
These future generations may barely reach the same level of literacy as their predecessors.
|
You could be right. Personally, I'll make a different prediction. The percentage of adults who are literate (currently around maybe 80 percent) will continue to rise. Millions of today's developing world children who have illiterate parents will grow up to be avid readers.
To reword your claim into a form I might be able to agree with: There will probably be some regression to the mean where people in the most literate countries become, on average, less literate.
Quote:
|
Shifts in future occupations may be focused on technology, where expertise in a programming language is more important than knowledge of a social language.
|
I learn programming from books. Some learn better by listening and doing. But no one can learn a programming language except from what you call a social language.
Quote:
|
Whether the wisdom of the ages is preserved is unknown.
|
With the wisdom of the ages redundantly preserved on so much computer media, I think we are now stuck with it. Views as to what constitutes wisdom will always be various and changing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Abe
Those who like to read words on a page are relegated to borrowing pbooks.
|
Horrors!
I prefer eBooks, but the paper book is also a good form factor.