Reading and Writing, No Arithmetic

One of the major advantages of the internet is it has become a voice for so many people. Through the use of instant messaging, social networking, blogging and personal web sites people have the ability to speak out and be heard across the world.

Of course this great advantage is also one of the terrible aspects of the internet, meaning everyone is talking at once and it becomes difficult to be heard above the din of too much information. It is equally terrible trying to find the few gems of thought and pearls of wisdom when they are but a drop in an overwhelming flood.

Prior to the internet a person actually had to have something to say that was important to people before their words could be heard in the form of books, articles and speeches. In the old world this meant that ideas were well formed, proper grammar and spelling was used and often someone would edit or review the material correcting or pointing out any mistakes.

In the new interconnected world grammar, spelling, and even continuity of ideas is missing out of most of what is posted online. People are left to edit themselves and it becomes pretty obvious that most have no idea about proofreading and ensuring that what they have to say is put forth in its best most understandable form. Today even newspapers, magazines and the mainstream media fail to ensure that what they have to say is relevant, accurate and delivered in a proper style. Because so much of what is online is often unintelligible and painful to read you have to look to books to find comfort in the use of language. Only in books will you find a writer’s stream of thought and consciousness skillfully articulated to the public at large.

Gadgets like the kindle will never replace books due to their high cost and inconvenience. When I finished reading Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows, I passed the book on to my wife who started reading it immediately while I started reading How the Scots Invented the Modern World. Through the wonders that are books, we were both able to read different books at the same time. The cost of buying multiple kindles just to be able to share books is pretty ridiculous and no electronic device will ever give the same reading experience and satisfaction as having a book in hand.