3 ms·

I'm glad I went to college when paper books were still prevalent. Some material was Web-based and that was always the hardest to read and comprehend. I just c

I'm glad I went to college when paper books were still prevalent. Some material was Web-based and that was always the hardest to read and comprehend. I just can't stare at an illuminated screen for that long (e-ink does help with this) and I find I engage with the material much more when I can rapidly flip to it. That latter point is an odd one for me, but I "know" a book by its thickness. I recall where stuff is by roughly how far into the book it was. No e-reader has been able to replicate that. iPads also have that whole reflective surface thing that annoys me. But presumably Apple could offer something else in the future that would work better for people like me.

skizm 15y ago
I feel the same way. I still enjoy my books printed for the most part (textbooks and novels). However, I think this will go away when kids are raised on digital books. Once 1st graders are issued an ipad (or more likely lower priced e-reader) with textbooks pre-loaded on it, they will grow up and never know what it means to '"know" a book by its thickness'. Just a guess, but I think it is only a matter of time.
- nirvdrum 15y ago
  I think that's the way it's going too, unfortunately. I'd really be interested to see a measure of student performance after such a transition. Of course, most studies like that are fraught with confounding variables, so we'll likely never have a clear picture of that.
saturdaysaint 15y ago
Your mileage clearly varies, but I'm pretty jealous of the "tablet student". I was pretty organized when I went to college (graduated in 03', for reference), but having textbooks/calendar/binder/to-do lists/word-processor/calculator in one device seems like a huge boon over trudging around with a backpack and needing to organize return trips to my dorm to write papers, pick up books, or any of the aforementioned items if I forgot them. Every trip to campus or return trip home required a massive checklist. In short, I think they can spend a lot more time learning and a lot less time keeping stacks of paper organized. Also, I would have loved to have multimedia/recorded lectures for certain subjects. I've become an audiobook addict and I definitely would have re-listened to critical lectures if I had the opportunity.
Tyr42 15y ago
I know what you are talking about for knowing a book by it's thickness, But also, don't forget about the ability to textually search. I find it invaluable when trying to locate passages, and I really, really miss it when I have a paper book. Also bookmarks are good too.
- nirvdrum 15y ago
  Funny that you mention that. I forgot to raise that in my initial comment. I find a well-structured index beats free text search handily. I realize ebooks can have indices too, but free text search usually turns up so many false positives (i.e., not what I'm actually looking for) that I can't use it effectively.

skizm 15y ago

I feel the same way. I still enjoy my books printed for the most part (textbooks and novels). However, I think this will go away when kids are raised on digital books. Once 1st graders are issued an ipad (or more likely lower priced e-reader) with textbooks pre-loaded on it, they will grow up and never know what it means to '"know" a book by its thickness'. Just a guess, but I think it is only a matter of time.

nirvdrum 15y ago
I think that's the way it's going too, unfortunately. I'd really be interested to see a measure of student performance after such a transition. Of course, most studies like that are fraught with confounding variables, so we'll likely never have a clear picture of that.

saturdaysaint 15y ago

Your mileage clearly varies, but I'm pretty jealous of the "tablet student". I was pretty organized when I went to college (graduated in 03', for reference), but having textbooks/calendar/binder/to-do lists/word-processor/calculator in one device seems like a huge boon over trudging around with a backpack and needing to organize return trips to my dorm to write papers, pick up books, or any of the aforementioned items if I forgot them. Every trip to campus or return trip home required a massive checklist. In short, I think they can spend a lot more time learning and a lot less time keeping stacks of paper organized. Also, I would have loved to have multimedia/recorded lectures for certain subjects. I've become an audiobook addict and I definitely would have re-listened to critical lectures if I had the opportunity.

Tyr42 15y ago

I know what you are talking about for knowing a book by it's thickness, But also, don't forget about the ability to textually search. I find it invaluable when trying to locate passages, and I really, really miss it when I have a paper book. Also bookmarks are good too.

nirvdrum 15y ago
Funny that you mention that. I forgot to raise that in my initial comment. I find a well-structured index beats free text search handily. I realize ebooks can have indices too, but free text search usually turns up so many false positives (i.e., not what I'm actually looking for) that I can't use it effectively.