Baron Writing

Baron Writing

Questions for Discussion and Journaling:

2. I do agree that one of his main messages it the fact that new technologies in writing people seem to shrug at and suggest that it is hard to see that they change the shape and nature of writing. It seems as though every time a new writing would come at, example the pencil then the telephone and the computer, it was always doubted. No matter how technologically “brand new” the idea was, everyone was hesitant to use it, even the inventors of the products. People seemed to be afraid of the change and frankly thought they did not need the change at all. They were happy with the products they had and thought any new products in writing were useless. So it seems that it is hard at first to see how much the telephone or computer changed the course of writing when you are living in its new invention period. I think this is totally correct. If you put it into today’s terms, look at the iPad. When it first came out, it had its doubters. What is the difference between it and a computer? What more can it do for me? How is it different from an iPhone? Me like a lot of other people had many doubts but we can see how big of a technological change it has had on my generation.

4. Another technology that goes exactly along with the pencil is the pen. Also just like the pen, is colored pencils and crayons. Although these are all still widely used, I can’t think of a lot of people who think of those things as “technology”. Instead of giving a child a piece of paper and some crayons, you can now sit them in front of a computer and open up “Paint” so they can interactively color and push things further than they ever could with colored pencils. You can give anybody an iPad or laptop and they suddenly can create master pieces of art, unlike they could ever do with a plain white sheet or paper and a pencil. Paper is also one; paper has hugely become a thing of the past. Use of paper, such as mailing letters or writing things on paper has gone down so much in today’s society because there are far more efficient ways to communicate. Instead of taking the time to write someone a letter on a piece of paper and mail it, you can simply shoot somebody a text. Then along with that, the mail system is also hugely down in this generation. It is simply no longer a huge part of today’s technology. I see a pattern here.

Applying and Exploring:

3. There are definitely beneficial factors to both writing that can keep records and one that cannot keep records. Say if you are writing a paper on Microsoft Word, just as I am doing right now. It is super important that I be able to save my work so I can turn in my homework and I get the grade for it. If I lost my paper I would continually have to restart every time my computer logged off or the power went out. If I want to look back at my emails to remember something my mother sent me, it is important that I have the ability to save those records. Also with text messages, sometimes you need to look back and see what a person said so you need those records safe. Along with the negative side can be fraudulent and hurtful things. There is always work to be stolen when your technological ways of writing are simply floating around the internet. Things that you do not want to end up on the internet like phone call conversations, text conversations, pictures, emails can have the ability to stay on the internet forever. Paper is a huge way of keeping records but at the same time is nowhere concrete as a phone or a computer. Paper can be easily burned.

Meta Moment:

It is definitely hard for me to think of writing as a technology in the generation that I grew up in but I definitely consider it a technology. If we did not have writing such as pencils, pens, telephones, computers, phones, email, Facebook, twitter, we would simply still be cavemen (over-exaggerating of course). But at the same time, it would take us way back in history. We would be much more less advanced and have trouble with every day simple tasks that seem like no problem at all today. Writing is definitely a technology that we take for granted. It is not something you think about every time you write, but it is a privilege to have a way to communicate with a person. It can bring us closer to a person who is across the world. We can share news and pictures immediately with family and friends wherever they are. It is a privilege to have writing in such a technological way in this generation.