I think you've missed the point, Athenian. Eldanen and Peguy both talk about retaining both aspects of communication.
In that case, I'm less concerned.
You are saying that, since you prefer one over the other, one should be eliminated. This attitude is self-centered and indicates a lack of thought on your part about the value that some things have.
I might have been arguing that because I felt that they were suggesting that people should be dissuaded from using computers instead of handwriting documents, regardless of what worked better or the person's preference, all because of the notion that something might be lost or that it had a redeeming quality.
It is an error of each generation to want to discard the old because their way works better. The value lies in keeping some and changing some, not throwing the baby out with the bath water for personal preference. There is a reason, whether you can fathom it or not, why some things have been a tradition for thousands of years. And the reason is not technology.
Slavery and dictatorship has been a tradition in some places for thousands of years. As was using leeches to draw blood. Some traditions have a purpose (like laws against murder and theft), but some of them just shouldn't be kept.
It's incredible to me to hear you say that something doesn't make sense to you so the culture shouldn't have it. Amazing. Just think - if certain personality types ruled supreme you may not even have a computer with that attitude.
I didn't say the culture shouldn't have it, I meant that people shouldn't be forced to write things instead of typing just because of tradition. It should still be an option, and should definitely be preserved as an art form.
And are you naive enough to imagine that you will always have a computer or that it will always work? You've lived a very priveleged life, if so.
The cultures which survive our coming crises will be the ones accustomed to doing manual labor for their needs. High tech people won't have a clue how to find something to put in a sandwich!
We need a little of everything.
The way your mind works is infuriating. "We will have an upcoming crisis, and unless you preserve all these little things that have a meaning that can't be explained, there's no hope. And how dare you ever question them, you calculating, shortsighted person with no sense of balance and appreciation."
At the moment, no I'm not that naive. That's why I can print. The other reason I print is because I figure that if I have to write something down on paper, I want to make sure it's as legible as possible, and print tends to be more legible than cursive.
I can make a sandwich. I know what food looks like. I've done it before. I've even cooked. I never said we should do away with cooking, but I don't think we should shut down fast food or limit fast food and compel people to go back to cooking.
Manual labor? If that's the future, I'm not sure I want to see it.
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