Sometimes the only way to slow the world down is through the arduous turning of the printed page.
Orality did not die out; folk songs, rap, audio books, and the ever-present voice of Paul Harvey are evidence of its existence.
Orality gave way to literacy, and through the written word a greater range of knowledge could be transferred to others. There was no longer a need for repetition, meter, and rhyme to assist memory in the transfer of stories and histories. The ability to communicate symbolically through language is one area that differentiates humans from other animals. Language is the seed to growth in communication. That has always, since the change from oralicy, been the mode of history keeping ... writing information down, using literature as the vehicle. The book will never die ... it may wan in popularity, but the sensuality of holding the printed word, of possessing the knowledge, is irreplaceable.
Why would someone with ready access to the Internet read a paper when access to an online version of the news is right at hand?
The ability to dip in and out of a story-in bed, on the bus, in a waiting room-is lost with the electronic version of a book
~ Sven Birkerts ~