Paper. Think about paper.
Give thought to the origins of the paper on your desk. The book you are reading. Look how smooth it is.
Consider how readily the paper in your book accepted ink to allow words to be printed on it. That paper then enabled those words to be transferred to your eyes. From your eyes, those words were recognized by your brain and your brain processed them to form ideas and, ultimately, understanding. All of that from simple paper. Though technology has reduced the importance of paper in storing and transmitting ideas, paper remains central to our lives.
If you are like most people, you know very little about paper. You don't think about paper much. You don't imagine the world without paper.
It is part of the packaging of many of the foods you buy. You may eat from plates made of paper when you go on a picnic. You use paper to clean yourself; it is softer than corn-cobs.
How many other important elements of our lives are, like paper, taken for granted? Consider that question. But first, think about paper. Really think about it.
I do think about paper. I also think about trees. I think about the environmentally sound idea of carrying 1,000 books on my Nook, as well as the convenience. But I MISS opening the cover of a book, feeling the smooth pages that are so full of promise, filling my nose with the scent of glue and ink and knowing that they might well represent a few hours of magic. I think about paper a lot. I love my Nook, but I will never get rid of all of my books.
ReplyDeleteI would like it if you would pick up where you left off writing on your blog, Lala. I would read it because obviously you have something to say. Now, about the environmentally sound idea of an e-book reader. First, understand I want one. But I have to wonder how much energy and material it takes to create the materials used in an e-book reader. And I have to wonder how much of those materials are renewable. And I wish there were ways in which to do real assessments between alternatives to know, truly and at the core, which ones make the most sense.
ReplyDelete