Going Digital

The theory class I'm a GA for had a guest speaker today--a professor who spoke on the topic of "digital theory." Imagine that. Digital theory. She's building a project around how the English language is changing in relation to technology. How we use language and our perception of the "Book" is changing rapidly due to our use of text messages, email, and online media. An interesting point, though, is that even though our perception of these things change, these older forms are still with us. The scroll did not go away with the invention of the codex; the hardbound book did not go away with the invention of the dimestore paperback. And the codex will not go away with the invention of the computer. In a way, we've come full circle: how often do we think of how our ancestors may have read scrolls when we're scrolling down a webpage?

To me, there will always be a tactile pleasure from curling up with a good book that simply could not be replaced by a computer (or even one of those little electronic book readers). But the digital world is here, and there's no going back now.