Week 6: Manipulating Documents

David M. Levy Scrolling Forward
After finishing this book, my mind was awhirl with all the questions pondering life, human existence, and written works that Levy raises. Throughout the book Levy incorporates a religious overtone to his analysis of the printed document in the modern era; he concludes that he would “go a step further and suggest that all our documents have a sacred quality about them, that all of them are religious in nature” (p. 194). At first I was really put off by this idea, but I think it makes a lot of sense in a more philosophical interpretation of religion’s place in human history. Obviously lots of written documents have been generated in the name of religious posterity, as the author repeatedly makes mention of the Bible, scriptures, and other religious artifacts, for example. However, it’s the more enrapturing quality of these (and secular) printed materials that comes across to me as their most important function. Even if the printed document is not the only means of preserving information anymore, there’s something so wonderful and fulfilling about reading from a book, like Wallace Steven’s reader (p.114). There’s the total experience of delving into a specific, purposefully organized collection of information, laid out by the author to take you through a new subject in a set way. Though books face the natural limit of being static, unlike web pages that can change, having limitless links to other pages with additional information on any topic, I think it is this static quality that is so alluring to me. As a reader, I can always decide to find further materials on a topic, but I enjoy reading a book, cover to cover, and taking in the information as the author intended. I feel that I often follow links online that are relevant in the beginning, and then before I know it, I’m only a few clicks from home but on an entirely different topic. Online, it’s easy to lose one’s way and be overwhelmed by the vast amount of information at your fingertips. When you’re reading a book or an article compiled by an expert, there’s a logic pattern and argument to guide you through the uncharted territory of this new topic. When you’re exploring the boundary-less expanse of the Internet, there’s a freedom of choice to any information you deem adequate or worthy, but at the same time, there’s no guarantee of ending up with a comprehensive tutorial on your subject, like a book’s aptitude. In the end, I hope it’s the successful partnership of traditionally bound physical printings and the new technology of digital stockpiles that will guide us on in the future, and not the annihilation of one medium for the proliferation of the other. Together, print and digital will provide a more aggregate understanding of the world around us; at least that’s what I’d like to see in the years to come.