I remember a time in school when a teacher asked what we liked to read, and one child replied, "Encyclopedias." I inwardly rolled my eyes and thought, "Oh my God! What an unimaginative sycophant!" (Well, maybe not those words, but you know . . .)Today, I apologise.In the library, I opened a volume of the World Book encyclopedia set, and it was like stepping into a world of knowledge far more beautiful than Wikipedia with its five hundred hyperlinks per page. I read up to prepare for a class ahead, and was amazed at how exciting it is to peer at black and white pictures, to turn the page, to flip through articles that are totally unrelated, and to remember that as a child, I did not know Google or Wikipedia.I left the library feeling deeply satisfied and unimaginably thirsty for more. I love encyclopedias. How outdated I am. … [Read more...]
Dysfunctional Internet
I remember when internet did not exist.I remember when internet at home was unheard of and we always had to go to a Cyber Cafe. I remember when internet at home was the standard dial up connection with loud trrrrrrrr-tiktiktiktiktiktiktik-peeeeeep-peeeeep-khrrrr-peeeeee-khrrrr I remember when the flashing modem constantly made me squirm and count how many minutes I'd already been online.Then came broadband, which was, wow, silent and fast! Not so many awful minutes of waiting for pages to load and thinking of high telephone bills.Then came unlimited broadband. Silent, fast and inexpensive.When I remember all of this, why do I feel so uncomfortable when the internet is not working? … [Read more...]