Quote:
Originally Posted by dmaul1114
Paper is just more useful for certain things that what readers can currently do (or may ever do)--though a lot of that is personal preference. Readers and gadgets can be used for pretty much everything, it's just a matter of which is more comfortable and efficient for a person based on their preferences.
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Sometimes or rather often, it's not just based on personal preference.
There are field situations where electronics are not demanded of and rather something less technological is required.
Imagine you're studying the culture and society in a Baule village in Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa. Electricity is unreliable there or in fact you may not even have electricity. There are anthropologists who trek into villages to do their fieldwork and then every week or two weeks go to a town with electricity to access various electronics devices. For instance, maybe to type up their fieldnotes in detail every week or so.
These are real situations!
I've lived and travelled in Accra, Tema, Tamale, Kumasi and they are all big cities in Ghana. I have also travelled in Yaounde and Douala, two major cities in Cameroon. I have experienced loss of electricity numerous times a month and not just a few minutes without electricity. I have gone hours and often days without electricity in these situations. The reality of those situations is that sometimes you cannot rely on electronics and have to revert to pen and paper, carrying your own bucket of water, handwashing your clothes and so forth.
My main point is this: it doesn't always boil down to personal preference. Social conditions often dictate what is and isn't appropriate, what is and isn't available.
[yeah, I'm an anthropologist]