“After books have been printed and bound, they are unchangeable. Thus the idea of a single author can be protected. Because books can be physical property, they can be intellectual property, protected by some version of copyright law. Thus the career of authorship becomes possible. And books create a natural authority: you can quarrel with them but only marginally or by writing another book” (Lanham 155).
I have never looked at books in this manner. Beyond their inherent intellectual value and enjoyment factor, they are also tangible. Just as a toy, hammer, or apple. And since you can literally hold a book in your hands, you can in turn build a bond with the book like you never could with a computer screen. Attempts like the iPad and the Kindle have tried to build a bridge between technology and our hands but neither possesses the connect-ability like a book.
As technology develops and further integrates itself into our lives it brings to question, will books inevitably become obsolete? And thus, will the connection we share with books also become obsolete? And further, what will fill the empty void? Or will books be the one thing in our current lives that doesn’t fall to the onslaught of technology?
I don't think books will ever become obsolete (not in our lifetime) because they have sentimental value.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, our society is trending towards a "less is more" mentality—by having less material possessions, people can help the planet by using less resources. And it's super hip!
I still like books, even though they kill trees.
I agree with Karen. Books will not become obsolete, not for many generations. The tangibility, low cost, and simplicity of the book will ensure its survival. The "bottom billion" - the population of the worlds poorest and most undeveloped nations, will likely lack resources and technology to move into a digital age that renders books obsolete.
ReplyDeleteI do believe, however, that OLED technology will be the next step in the evolution of the portable digital book. This would allow a reading device to be nearly as this as a sheet of paper, and physically flexible and foldable. When this technology gets more mainstream, and companies like Apple embrace them, books will be rendered even more obsolete. Like you said Karen, less is more, and as these portable digital reading devices become smaller, lighter, and more portable, many will ask themselves why they ever bothered to lug around bulky books.
For now, though, technology hasn't yet produced a better alternative to the softcover book.