Thanks for sharing this, excellent stuff and great discussion. As I'm still without e-reading device and still wading through tech sections of this forum, I have not so much to declare but give my five cents:
First, I would have limited the St. Augustine part to a couple of sentences. With tech generation it does not help much describing Biblical sections when telling about the breaktrough and change of habits within book revolution versus scrolls.
Second, I feel for this guy. According the Amazon page of his book, he has been with computers relatively early. Yet he has verbalized the wonderment about the change of something he considers sacred and goes into resistance that carries likeness to an army general of the 20th century beginning seeing an aeroplane. Also I have seen this resistance in tens if not hundreds of current articles denying the press changing all electronic, yet printing houses are declining regardless of trade cycle(correct?).
One of writer's main problems seems to be the losing of grasp of the Good Olde Book. I have no single doubt that Piper would have any lack of controlling new gadgets, he merely describes the difficult change of habit and does it in physical level, which tech generation does not have worries about. In the spirit of earlier computer generation he describes the same idea I have
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Faust reminds us of the way books are totems against ceaseless activity
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...and the sanctuary, for Piper and, I admit, for me, when I'm tired of the screen; perhaps very archaic nonsense for all who contest at coffee break with gadgets. But Piper submits
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But Faust also reminds us not to hold on too tightly. He shows us the risks of grasping. He reminds me that the meaning of reading lies in the oscillatory rhythms of the opening and closing hand.
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World's changing, and doing it fast.But this is still '0's and '1's for me, maintained by the current from the sockets and batteries dependent on it. Yet e-readers' mobility, clarity and huge storage capability are 'the aeroplane' of the book world. Not to talk about needless bedside lamp
