The wonder of the internet
I know this is not a particularly original thought, but I have often thought of the internet as magic - like an oracle of knowledge that you can consult in your own living room! And get the answer to almost any answerable question, instantly. You don't even have to trudge up a mountain! Well, I still feel that way. It truly amazes me still that I have access to this magical resource.
I was reminded of it today when I read that wife of former President Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, had died. My first thought was 'why the hell was a grown woman called 'Lady Bird'? Without thinking, I went to Wikipedia, and got the answer. Then I realized what I had just done, and started thinking about how often during the day I do it. It must be at least 20 times a day on average that I will think of something, hear something, or read something, and in seconds, a question forms in my mind, and suddenly my 70 words per minute typing fingers go immediately to Google or Wikipedia to get the answer or more information, which leads on to more information, etc., etc. ad infinitum.
The other thing I was thinking about is how much more I would know had I had this resource as a child. If 20 times a day I want more information on something now, as a child it must have happened at least 200 hundred times a day. And back then, what could I do to get my answer? Ask an nearby adult, who might not know, for example, why a tumbler is called a tumbler when it is referring to a glass (something I remember wondering about when I was about 9. I also remember asking my teacher, around the same age, how language started. She didn't really give me a good answer). Or I could wait for my weekly trip to the library, which wasn't feasible, because by then I'd have either forgotten the question or have had a list of 1400 other more pressing questions.
And if I had the internet when I was at university! How amazing that would have been! I graduated in 1994, and I realize that the internet existed then, but it was not as developed or as ubiquitous as it is now. In my last year of university, I had a very vague idea about something called email. By 1995, I couldn't live without it. If they internet was available to me at university, any of the topics I needed to study for exams would have been so much easier to find! I could have learned so much more. Of course, there is something enchanting about trudging through the stacks at Columbia's Butler Library, which is a truly amazing library, but it's really a hell of a lot of effort at 2 in the morning when it's 10 below zero. The internet could not have replaced the experience of looking up the number of your book, then taking the elevator to the right floor, then following the map through the narrow, tightly packed labyrinthine stacks to find the right book. I can still remember the smell of that place if I close my eyes. (some floors and corridors were so quiet and the subject matter so obscure, there were rumors of students having sex in the stacks, including Erica Jong in the 1960s)
I remember, back in about 1992, I wanted to find out about Bat Conservation International, which I knew was in Austin, Texas, because I had seen a program on television that mentioned it. At the time I was really into bats (and still am). Now, if that had happened, I would instantly have their web page, and tons of bat info immediately. This is how I did it then: I searched the house for the yellow pages (I lived in Pennsylvania, so it wouldn't have Texas listings), and found the page for area codes. Once I found the area code for Austin, Texas, I called their directory inquiries (time elapsed - about 20 minutes). I asked if they had a listing for Bat Conservation International. They did. But it was after 6 o'clock, well after business hours, so I had to wait till the next day to call. When I did, they sent me some information, which took about 4 days to get there. Then I had to fill out my membership application on paper, send it back.....blah blah blah. I do believe that expending the effort to do something like that is a worthwhile endeavor.
Of course it could be argued that the bat info was info that I really wanted, and I expended the effort to do it because it was important to me, and much of the stuff I want to know about now is just not important (eg. Lady Bird's nickname derivation). But I could have learned so much more had I had the internet. I wonder how many times I said to myself about something or other, "I wonder what that means?" and the thought slipped away, never to be researched. What might that information done for for me had I pursued it?
I realize this whole thread of thoughts might be rather hackneyed. No matter - I really think the internet is magical.
I was reminded of it today when I read that wife of former President Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, had died. My first thought was 'why the hell was a grown woman called 'Lady Bird'? Without thinking, I went to Wikipedia, and got the answer. Then I realized what I had just done, and started thinking about how often during the day I do it. It must be at least 20 times a day on average that I will think of something, hear something, or read something, and in seconds, a question forms in my mind, and suddenly my 70 words per minute typing fingers go immediately to Google or Wikipedia to get the answer or more information, which leads on to more information, etc., etc. ad infinitum.
The other thing I was thinking about is how much more I would know had I had this resource as a child. If 20 times a day I want more information on something now, as a child it must have happened at least 200 hundred times a day. And back then, what could I do to get my answer? Ask an nearby adult, who might not know, for example, why a tumbler is called a tumbler when it is referring to a glass (something I remember wondering about when I was about 9. I also remember asking my teacher, around the same age, how language started. She didn't really give me a good answer). Or I could wait for my weekly trip to the library, which wasn't feasible, because by then I'd have either forgotten the question or have had a list of 1400 other more pressing questions.
And if I had the internet when I was at university! How amazing that would have been! I graduated in 1994, and I realize that the internet existed then, but it was not as developed or as ubiquitous as it is now. In my last year of university, I had a very vague idea about something called email. By 1995, I couldn't live without it. If they internet was available to me at university, any of the topics I needed to study for exams would have been so much easier to find! I could have learned so much more. Of course, there is something enchanting about trudging through the stacks at Columbia's Butler Library, which is a truly amazing library, but it's really a hell of a lot of effort at 2 in the morning when it's 10 below zero. The internet could not have replaced the experience of looking up the number of your book, then taking the elevator to the right floor, then following the map through the narrow, tightly packed labyrinthine stacks to find the right book. I can still remember the smell of that place if I close my eyes. (some floors and corridors were so quiet and the subject matter so obscure, there were rumors of students having sex in the stacks, including Erica Jong in the 1960s)
I remember, back in about 1992, I wanted to find out about Bat Conservation International, which I knew was in Austin, Texas, because I had seen a program on television that mentioned it. At the time I was really into bats (and still am). Now, if that had happened, I would instantly have their web page, and tons of bat info immediately. This is how I did it then: I searched the house for the yellow pages (I lived in Pennsylvania, so it wouldn't have Texas listings), and found the page for area codes. Once I found the area code for Austin, Texas, I called their directory inquiries (time elapsed - about 20 minutes). I asked if they had a listing for Bat Conservation International. They did. But it was after 6 o'clock, well after business hours, so I had to wait till the next day to call. When I did, they sent me some information, which took about 4 days to get there. Then I had to fill out my membership application on paper, send it back.....blah blah blah. I do believe that expending the effort to do something like that is a worthwhile endeavor.
Of course it could be argued that the bat info was info that I really wanted, and I expended the effort to do it because it was important to me, and much of the stuff I want to know about now is just not important (eg. Lady Bird's nickname derivation). But I could have learned so much more had I had the internet. I wonder how many times I said to myself about something or other, "I wonder what that means?" and the thought slipped away, never to be researched. What might that information done for for me had I pursued it?
I realize this whole thread of thoughts might be rather hackneyed. No matter - I really think the internet is magical.
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