[thibaulthalpern]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I'm hearing a lot of excuses to keep paper around... but not legitimate reasons. Fact of the matter is, electronics can do all of the tasks mentioned above. Electronic whiteboards. Document sharing, across a room, or a continent. Realtime collaboration. Version tracking. Transfer to multiple platforms. Conversion to multiple formats. Romantic ideals aside, electronics can not only do the same things paper can do... electronics can do those things better, and more things besides.

Paper may be good for a lot of things... wiping your behind, for instance... but when it comes to communicating information, ink on paper is the last millennium's technology, as relevant to the future as the pony express.

No, it will not completely disappear. But it will be relegated to a niche technology and used only in those increasingly rare occasions when efficiency, immediacy, practicality and utility do not matter.

I don't think I'm coming from the point of view of a romantic. If I were, I wouldn't even be typing on my computer to this forum right now. I'm talking practicality here.

I do think we'll just have to agree that we'll be disagreeing though. I am not convinced that electronics can do all that paper can do. Electronics can replace some, but not all. For instance, the computer has largely replaced my heavy duty writing tasks although it has definitely not eliminated my pen and paper because guess what.... There are times when switching to the pen and paper aids in getting past writer's block. Just ask any teacher of writing and you'll hear that too. Furthermore, when taking notes in class I find the computer extremely clumsy. Taking notes in pen and paper is much easier because I can much easily move my pen to wherever I want whereas it takes quite a bit more effort to type notes on the computer. Trying putting diagrams, tables, and chart sketches rapidly along with text using the computer (imagining that you're note taking) versus using a pen and paper for the same purpose. Of course if you're going to eventually make it neat, it's much better on the computer, but the computer cannot do the rough and dirty sketches easily that a pen and paper can.

Furthermore, electronics are not as reliable as the paper in certain areas of the world. In those cases, sticking to paper for certain tasks is better than electronics. I grew up in the capital of an African country where electricity is shoddy and still was when I was there again in 2006. Of course, electronics there are replacing certain tasks that were done by paper, but by no means is paper being eliminated in its entirety. When in the field and taking notes (I'm an anthropologist) I don't want to lug around some delicate electronics with me and rather resort to pen and notebook. The computer is unreliable in my field situation because
a) electricity is not readily available,
b) it's clumsy to talk to informants and have a laptop with you while trying to jot notes (a job which the pen and paper can much better do without being socially overly awkward)
c) I cannot inconspicuously take notes with a laptop whereas I could with a pen and paper (there are scenarios when I run away to a bathroom or duck into a small alley to rapidly take notes before going back to my informants; not something easily done with a laptop)

All the examples you give about electronic collaboration is fine and good in theory but when put into practice in an office environment or school environment or field environment in certain areas of the country or world can become extremely clumsy.

When I'm in the field, I leave my laptop in my room. When I return for the night or when I return a few days later, I turn on the laptop, open my field notebook and transcribe and expand my jottings into full form notes. This is where the electronics shine because when I am sitting down to type up my notes, I can do them much faster on the computer than I could on paper. In this situation, writing longhand to expand fieldnotes is silly because it's slower and paper is not "searchable" the way electronics are.

My fieldwork example then gives an example where pen and paper and electronics work together side-by-side. Pen and paper good for the immediacy and when in the field talking to informants and jotting down stuff inconspicuously. Electronics/computer good for expanding my fieldnotes when I'm back in my room.

I'm of the conviction that paper and electronics can go hand in hand together and that there are certain tasks that are better performed by paper and pen than electronics (and vice versa, of course). And, there is no good reason to eliminate paper entirely.