a scuba diver in the sea of words
Diane sent me this article this morning. Read it–the whole thing. I commented afterward that it is, in large part, a sort of Closing of the American Mind for the internet set–it has the potential to have that large of an impact if widely read. Not only that, but I fully expect these sorts of articles and studies to become increasingly frequent if thinking people have enough good sense to take a step back, a step away from the screen, and think critically about the internet revolution very much in progress. But for starters, the article is very much a must-read.
Appropriately enough, a few days ago I made my first trip the library in several months, and was startled with the realization that I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Looking through the directories, scanning the call numbers on the sides of books, finding the section I was looking for and browsing the adjacent titles… I missed it. I picked up a couple of books on web design, the collected works of Jonathan Edwards, Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans (one tome of a much larger series), and some, shall we say, “recreational reading:” Soviet SST: The Techno-Politics Of The Tupolev-144, which I’ve been enjoying very much.
I don’t think I would be overstating the case to say that the entirety of my consciousness enjoys the experience of the library: my memory enjoys the recollection of frequent trips to our neighborhood location with my mom and brothers, my emotions are satisfied with the serene experience of delving into a thoughtfully-written book, my mind is engaged in whatever material I’m reading, and above all my spirit praises and thanks the God Who gave us the creativity to make and communicate and disseminate thought in this way–more than that, Who Himself communicates to us through the written Word. The whole scope of the experience agrees with me.
Thanks for sharing this article. I skimmed half of it:) And now I’m closing my computer and going to read a book. I hate that I rarely read them anymore, although I definitely read over an hour a day on the internet.