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Originally Posted by John F
No, an ebook is a book (and remains an book until it isn't, file is erased or storage is destroyed).
I don't see how this differs from an ebook.
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Except it's not a book on its own. It needs an additional component — a computer — to
simulate a book. There is a reason why "eBooks" are called eBooks instead of simply "books" — it's because they are different. Nobody can receive an eBook on a thumb drive and read it without some kind of computer. Books, on the other hand, are complete. I can lend a book to someone without a computer or eReader and they can read it. Not so with an eBook.
Quote:
Originally Posted by John F
So if I give someone an ereader with a single ebook on it, then you have a book.
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At that point you're giving me an eReader AND an eBook, which together
simulate a book. You'll notice that eBook readers also simulate turning pages (they're even numbered) but you aren't actually turning pages. A simulation is not the same as reality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by John F
Why does that matter I thought part of your argument is:
A book doesn't have words either. It has strokes that are interpreted as glyphs. Or has dots of ink that are interpreted as glyphs. Or toner that is interpreted as glyphs, ...
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Glyphs form letters, letters form words. Toner does not "interpret" glyphs, or anything at all. It has no ability to reason. I think you're reaching here.
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Originally Posted by John F
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Published maybe, but it still doesn't stand on its own. In other words an eBook is different than a paper book.
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Originally Posted by John F
But if you are talking about a book on MR, or in a modern context, "a book is a pbook" seems like an archaic definition.
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Except no one in the "real" world refers to a book as a "pbook." They refer to a paper book as a book and an electronic book as an ebook.
Again, I'm not trying to denigrate eBooks. I almost exclusively read eBooks now. I'm just trying to explain why a lot of people consider a book (a paper book) a "real" book. There is a difference. Playing with the terminology doesn't change that fact.