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The article makes a very astute point: that people are attracted to the physicality, the tangibility of "analog" things. Whether out of nostalgia (because we've

by niftich 10y ago

The article makes a very astute point: that people are attracted to the physicality, the tangibility of "analog" things. Whether out of nostalgia (because we've been there) or retro fascination (when we haven't lived it firsthand), we can develop an emotional connection with a single physical objects that succinctly and permanently hold an abstract concept in a physical package -- like a letter, a book, a music record, or a photograph. In the digital world so much of what we produce, consume, and interact with has no physical manifestation what we can strongly identify with. The computer is an abstract filing cabinet which can display what you're looking for on its own screen, or plays abstract 'music files', or streams 'video' from subscription apps. We're essentially asking the computer to recall these things from its "memory", and luckily, they remember with exact accuracy much more than a human would. While we can experience these things, we can't hold them in our hand; we can't share them in a self-contained, self-describing form (like handing someone a book) -- if we can share them at all.

Overtonwindow 10y ago
You've just made a very astute point. I've been thinking for some time now that we are reaching a critical mass of technology. An era when people will start to become bored and detached from technology, and yearn for something tangible, and able to wrap their heads around. For me the allure of a typewriter is the fact that I can see how it works, I can fix it myself, and I can tinker with it.
- frosting 10y ago
  Same with myself and fointain pens, I can fix them, tweak them, and know exactly how it works.
  - dredmorbius 10y ago
    I picked up one myself in the past year, and find that for notetaking it's very much what I prefer these days. There's the old running-out-of-ink problem (this pen lays down a thick line, and even with a refillable cartridge, typically needs filling daily with heavy use, every few days if I'm slowing down). The writing though is clear and preferable to other implements. Ballpoints are atrocious, rollerballs only slightly tolerable.
bbctol 10y ago
I think as related sensation is the feeling of control, or at least understanding, over our technology. You can see exactly how a typewriter works; each letter you type is a direct result of your action, through a clear causal chain. When you type on a computer, letters appear on your screen through a much more convoluted process we take as magic, and especially for someone unused to the technology, that can lead to a feeling of loss of control.
- wrsh07 10y ago
  A typewriter never has inexplicable input lag. I think you've made an astute point.
privateersman 10y ago
Those objects are collectable, timeless and perfect for what they do. It's not like buying a laptop, which is useless a decade or two later. In my opinion, the older you get the more you appreciate stuff that lasts. Especially if you face hardship at some point and see the world for what it really is.
- niftich 10y ago
  > collectible, timeless (...) and markedly more backwards- and forwards-compatible than anything digital. We can read plays from the 1600s, or essays on how to build a government from the 1780s. We can admire art from thousands of years ago, and people thousands of years in the future will be able to hold developed photographs of us in their hands and readily perceive it, while JPEG/EXIF file format will, without conscious intervention, will sink into near-complete obscurity. When we die, how do we pass on our digital possessions? Do Facebook's, Instagram's datacenters, full of pictures of now-dead twenty- and thirty-somethings, will have to purge inactive accounts one day. Will our kids inherit our iTunes library even though they have their own? Do we pass 1000-game heirloom Steam accounts to our grandkids? Morbid, I know, but the tangibility of physical, 'real-world' objects exudes a more reliable aura of permanence than that of digital content. Even if our descendants hold a garage sale the very next day, at least the world is made aware of our stuff, and it doesn't just spin away on a hard drive somewhere, forgotten.

by niftich 10y ago

Overtonwindow 10y ago

You've just made a very astute point. I've been thinking for some time now that we are reaching a critical mass of technology. An era when people will start to become bored and detached from technology, and yearn for something tangible, and able to wrap their heads around. For me the allure of a typewriter is the fact that I can see how it works, I can fix it myself, and I can tinker with it.

frosting 10y ago
Same with myself and fointain pens, I can fix them, tweak them, and know exactly how it works.
- dredmorbius 10y ago
  I picked up one myself in the past year, and find that for notetaking it's very much what I prefer these days. There's the old running-out-of-ink problem (this pen lays down a thick line, and even with a refillable cartridge, typically needs filling daily with heavy use, every few days if I'm slowing down). The writing though is clear and preferable to other implements. Ballpoints are atrocious, rollerballs only slightly tolerable.

bbctol 10y ago

I think as related sensation is the feeling of control, or at least understanding, over our technology. You can see exactly how a typewriter works; each letter you type is a direct result of your action, through a clear causal chain. When you type on a computer, letters appear on your screen through a much more convoluted process we take as magic, and especially for someone unused to the technology, that can lead to a feeling of loss of control.

wrsh07 10y ago
A typewriter never has inexplicable input lag. I think you've made an astute point.

privateersman 10y ago

Those objects are collectable, timeless and perfect for what they do. It's not like buying a laptop, which is useless a decade or two later. In my opinion, the older you get the more you appreciate stuff that lasts. Especially if you face hardship at some point and see the world for what it really is.

niftich 10y ago
> collectible, timeless (...) and markedly more backwards- and forwards-compatible than anything digital. We can read plays from the 1600s, or essays on how to build a government from the 1780s. We can admire art from thousands of years ago, and people thousands of years in the future will be able to hold developed photographs of us in their hands and readily perceive it, while JPEG/EXIF file format will, without conscious intervention, will sink into near-complete obscurity. When we die, how do we pass on our digital possessions? Do Facebook's, Instagram's datacenters, full of pictures of now-dead twenty- and thirty-somethings, will have to purge inactive accounts one day. Will our kids inherit our iTunes library even though they have their own? Do we pass 1000-game heirloom Steam accounts to our grandkids? Morbid, I know, but the tangibility of physical, 'real-world' objects exudes a more reliable aura of permanence than that of digital content. Even if our descendants hold a garage sale the very next day, at least the world is made aware of our stuff, and it doesn't just spin away on a hard drive somewhere, forgotten.