Quote:
Originally Posted by Sregener
Because, as others have pointed out, reading is a means to an end. It'd be like a debate over whether plowing your fields leads to better yields or not. "Why not just be happy people are planting?" If people read slower, retain less, and are not able to find things later, then their reading time is not being used as productively as it could be.
OTOH, if they're able to read more often, they may consume more books. Audiobooks are waaaaay slower than printed books, but my kids have heard many books simply because we listen in the car on the way to-and-from town. It's not the same as reading them, but it's probably been better for them than constantly staring out the window or fighting over who's foot is on the wrong side.
I don't have an axe to grind, but I do wonder what the answers are to my listed questions. And I'm afraid we'll have to wait a long time to get those answers, and by then the new technology will be entrenched, even if it is proven to be inferior.
|
I think audio books in the car is a great idea.
I can't see how reading electronically can be overall inferior. Possible retention and other advantages to paper are, for me, at least equalled by advantages like availability and convenience.
I can't say I read more electronically as I always read a lot, but many people tell me they read more. And I am pretty sure I skim over parts I find less interesting less with an ebook. I think it was easier to skip back and forth with paper for me at least and I tended to do that at times.
Pretty entrenched already I think.
Helen