A continuation of sorts from the previous post. Another form of technology has taken the world by storm. Over the past few years, the invention/idea of an "electronic book" (e-book) has won over millions of tech savvy Americans. It LITERALly put the fun back in reaFUNding. (cwatididthar?) The google image to the right is a rather old example of what an e-book really is. Sure they have been around for a little longer than I've made it out, but it was only recently that they have giving actual books a run for the money. Where do I sit on the e-book train? Well let's first look at some positives and negatives... at least the ones I can think of off the top of my head.E-books will save the rainforest. Not as literaly as you may think, but if you imagine for a second a local library you go to, and think about how many trees it took to make all those books. Now image that same library, as a data file nested comfortably in a bed of circuitry. See what I'm getting at? As data becomes easier to store in a large quantity, e-books will become the Savior the rainforest (or wherever it is the paper comes from).
I've had my own experiences with e-books. All the iPads, Kindles, Nooks, Sony eReaders, etc. have their own strengths when it comes to "eReading." What I like about some of them is the screens. Not a lot of glare, and it makes me feel like you're reading some kind of futuristic newspaper. Those are only found on the eReaders whose sole purpose is to... eRead. iPads and Kindles no longer apply. That's just another positive about eBooks. Very convenient. Saves some strain on the back, shoulder, etc. Kinda makes you look like a pretentious know it all when you're using one at Starbucks. All good things. Though here is where i'm going to steer a little off course. I know I do it a lot but at least I'm aware of it and at least I'm letting you know.
My short term memory is on fire today, and I'm not quite sure if I mentioned Books in my previous post of things that are going to disappear (although now I'm quite sure it wasn't because books aren't so much of a "technology"). I imagine for a quick minute a life completely void of books and a pure eLibrary. Where is there nostalgia in books? Well I can name a few. How bout that new book smell? That crisp crackling of the bindings as you pull the cover back? That sweet smell of fresh paper with a hint of ink... nothing gets you prepared to read more. Now I haven't tried it, but eBooks probably smell terrible. What about marking a page where you last left off? Folding the corner as small or as big as you want? Or maybe a fancy bookmark you want to show off? Its fun to see the sides of the books you once read to see how much of the book you read at the time becasue the creases you left make little tiny holes no matter how much power you squeeze the pages together. Lastly, that satisfying "thump" you get when you finish reading a good book. You know what i'm talking about. You can probably hear it in your head right now. THUMP. There, finished book. Big sigh of satisfaction and a smile not really directed towards anyone but yourself. That's good reading. Theres no satisfaction in "marking a bookmark" or turning off an eReader once you're done. Just thinking about it makes me... well do nothing, and that's the problem.
So I guess I accidently hit a negative on the eBook there without realizing it, but I want to go into one more thing before concluding. Textbooks should not turn into eBooks. I've always been a huge fan of taking notes oldschool. I feel like if textbooks start to become - in some way shape or form - an eBook, then this whole world is going down th estupid brain. I shouldn't speak for everyone here, but it's hard not to think that studying can be successful through hard note taking rather than highligting certain parts of the text with your finger or however else you do it. Coming from a chemistry major and math minor, I see a lot of frustration flipping back and forth to practice problems and text on an eReader. It's no way to study. The only exception are for textbooks on history, psycology, and the like. Textbooks that don't really need switching back and forth to. Again, this is probably just a sign of a generation switch. The "back in my day" syndrome. I'm sure the new generation and technology will eventually find something that takesall my complaints about eTextbooks and throws them down the drain. For now, I think you earn grades nose deep in a textbook and handwritten notes, not on a screen - no matter how high def it is.
If I could pose another question, how well do you actually study with technology sitting in front of your face? I can't cite this fact but i do remember seeing a statistic that said during finals week, a majority of college student will turn their phones, tv, and computers off while studying. Now imagine if an eReader were the only way to study. I don't know about you, but I'd be playing temple run all night long.
In conclusion: eBooks are great for novels and can save a lot of paper, but keep them away from textbooks. Our next generation is already screwed as it is.
ta ta kids
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