Are books dying?
Are books taken for granted with the introduction of technologies such as the Apple ipad? Well, technologies are constantly upgrading and I do not see the Apple ipad or other forms of new media being a threat to books. Reading a document on the ipad is as much of a book as reading the same content on printed paper. In fact, the introduction of new technologies has given birth to various forms of books such as audio and e-books. The only issue I see is that people are getting confused with the definition of a book and the launch of new technologies. Hence, they are taking books for granted and do not realize that the stories they access through an electronic device are still books which are just not called by the same name.
Are books just hundreds of papers containing pictures and text that are printed using ink, before being bound together and sold in the market? Books are much more than that. They are the mother of imagination, the path to knowledge, an easy ticket to entertainment and a guide to life.
Books are not just a “thing”, instead is a human accomplished technology. According to the book titled The book is dead by Sherman Young, it is a system that involves “writing, reading, editing and publishing ideas”. It is not the printed-paper but the content, which makes the most of a book. The content of a book is so powerful that it could completely change the reader’s lifestyle. For example, Mr. Ganapathi Subramanyam, now a Managing Director of an investing company worth millions, was once an engineer. According to his website, the book Bufettology by Mary Buffet changed his entire life. Without giving his career a second thought he quit being an engineer and barged into the world of finance (Subramanyam, 2009).
Being such a powerful mechanism, books have changed our perceptual habits, which in turn has affected our social interactions. For instance, rather than reading stories out loud to a group of listeners as done in the early 19 century, people now choose from a wide selection of books and read silently to themselves. This perspective illustrates that books discouraged interactivity, promoted writing than speaking and allowed readers to believe in anything that were of interest to them.
Books have their pros and cons, but I believe so far no technology has been able to replace this incredible invention.
Are books just hundreds of papers containing pictures and text that are printed using ink, before being bound together and sold in the market? Books are much more than that. They are the mother of imagination, the path to knowledge, an easy ticket to entertainment and a guide to life.
Books are not just a “thing”, instead is a human accomplished technology. According to the book titled The book is dead by Sherman Young, it is a system that involves “writing, reading, editing and publishing ideas”. It is not the printed-paper but the content, which makes the most of a book. The content of a book is so powerful that it could completely change the reader’s lifestyle. For example, Mr. Ganapathi Subramanyam, now a Managing Director of an investing company worth millions, was once an engineer. According to his website, the book Bufettology by Mary Buffet changed his entire life. Without giving his career a second thought he quit being an engineer and barged into the world of finance (Subramanyam, 2009).
Being such a powerful mechanism, books have changed our perceptual habits, which in turn has affected our social interactions. For instance, rather than reading stories out loud to a group of listeners as done in the early 19 century, people now choose from a wide selection of books and read silently to themselves. This perspective illustrates that books discouraged interactivity, promoted writing than speaking and allowed readers to believe in anything that were of interest to them.
Books have their pros and cons, but I believe so far no technology has been able to replace this incredible invention.
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