These days , one can source any kind of information from the internet ; be it the daily headlines , recipes for Yorkshire pudding or medical information on how to treat Uncle Joe's frequent heartburn episodes.
The internet has it all.
Or does it?
Does staring for hours in front of a glowing computer screen trump the experience of flipping through the pages of a book?
Do you feel the same level of accomplishment when you dig out information on Wikipedia as when you referenced the same on the Almanac or The Encyclopedia Brittanica?
For those of you who say that the internet is also a way to pass time, I can justify as well as counter this argument. In all fairness, the internet is definitely a good way to pass time in situations which require you to exercise patience, which in the fast-paced world of today, is becoming increasingly difficult.So yes, a quick log-in on Facebook or a Twitter update would definitely help in passing those monotonous moments.
But conversely, immerse yourself in a novel or a magazine and you'll hardly realize how quickly time flies.
The internet as a cure to chronic boredom. Really? So ,opening and closing Facebook and your email inbox every 10 minutes cures your boredom? Maybe a few tweets, a few photo uploads, perhaps watching the grey line of a YouTube video of cute fuzzy kittens advance agonizingly as it buffers, or reading this article on my blog at the end of it all because you already did everything you could do for the moment?
Alternatively, once you pick up a book , there aren't many things which come into your mind. As one-dimensional as flipping through pages may seem, it enables us to push or minds to the limit, helping us visualize, imagine, opine, innovate.
Books are the cornerstone for evolution and revolution.
"The Republic" by Plato ,The works of Shakespeare ,Charles Dickens , Das Kapital by Karl Marx, "The Prince" by Machiavelli are literary masterpieces which either inspired change, portrayed the conditions that prevailed at the time or offered a ray of hope in the darkness.
Sure, you could download ebooks from Amazon.com , but the experience wouldn't essentially be the same.
At the same time, you wouldn't really want to purchase a book everytime you need reference for a small paragraph of info; not unless you have a reading room that parallels the Smithsonian and the finances of say, Warren Buffet.
Conclusion : I certainly have no qualms about searching for information on the world wide web, as it's definitely faster and more accessible, but nothing beats the thrill and sense of achievement of flipping through the pages of a book.
P.S : I thought of writing this as I was going through a pile of Readers' Digest. Kinda proves a point. :)
The internet has it all.
Or does it?
Does staring for hours in front of a glowing computer screen trump the experience of flipping through the pages of a book?
Do you feel the same level of accomplishment when you dig out information on Wikipedia as when you referenced the same on the Almanac or The Encyclopedia Brittanica?
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| Source : caribarena.com |
But conversely, immerse yourself in a novel or a magazine and you'll hardly realize how quickly time flies.
The internet as a cure to chronic boredom. Really? So ,opening and closing Facebook and your email inbox every 10 minutes cures your boredom? Maybe a few tweets, a few photo uploads, perhaps watching the grey line of a YouTube video of cute fuzzy kittens advance agonizingly as it buffers, or reading this article on my blog at the end of it all because you already did everything you could do for the moment?
Alternatively, once you pick up a book , there aren't many things which come into your mind. As one-dimensional as flipping through pages may seem, it enables us to push or minds to the limit, helping us visualize, imagine, opine, innovate.
Books are the cornerstone for evolution and revolution.
"The Republic" by Plato ,The works of Shakespeare ,Charles Dickens , Das Kapital by Karl Marx, "The Prince" by Machiavelli are literary masterpieces which either inspired change, portrayed the conditions that prevailed at the time or offered a ray of hope in the darkness.
Sure, you could download ebooks from Amazon.com , but the experience wouldn't essentially be the same.
At the same time, you wouldn't really want to purchase a book everytime you need reference for a small paragraph of info; not unless you have a reading room that parallels the Smithsonian and the finances of say, Warren Buffet.
Conclusion : I certainly have no qualms about searching for information on the world wide web, as it's definitely faster and more accessible, but nothing beats the thrill and sense of achievement of flipping through the pages of a book.
P.S : I thought of writing this as I was going through a pile of Readers' Digest. Kinda proves a point. :)
Good post dude! There is nothing like lying back and reading a book.. Have to agree with you on that!
ReplyDeleteYup ! Sure beats straining your eyes at a computer screen all day!
ReplyDelete