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Tech writer tells me today, re all this brouhaha:
"Danny, From my perspective, I suspect that there are real functionally-relevant differences between holding a physical print medium in your hands and reading it, especially the way I taught myself to study, by marking, annotating, diagramming, bookmarking, reviewing, highlighting, etc.. Even with the best reading tech, and the highest resolution available, these things are still easier and more efficient with print media. The physical medium is an extension of our mind, an analog, in a way that electronic books are not, at least not yet. I remember the position of something I read on the page and the position of the page in the book. My brain maps the knowledge I obtained from the book onto a visual picture of the book in my memory, and this gives me an index for reflective thinking. ''
''Perhaps this will become possible with future reading technologies, and perhaps not. I know I am reluctant to let go of physical books to try to find out! ''
''I find that I need to be optimistic about future tech because I don't see being able to oppose the cultural and economic forces toward e-books and web media even with my best arguments. I am not excited about tilting at windmills, as much as I probably seem like a curmudgeon at times. I am more interested in knowing how I can better make use of the things I can't stop, and keep using the things that I find benefit me."
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