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scarp · 4681 days ago · link · · parent · post: And the true threat to reading and literature, according to Jonathan Franzen, is...
Well, sometimes it is technology that's changing in negative ways. Let's not temper our critical voices for the sake of vanity. I think what Franzen is saying here is pretty loopy, but it's not because I'm hesitant to speak out against new technological developments. It's because the arguments for ebooks greatly outweigh the arguments against them. But for something like, say, cloud computing/storage, I'm not entirely sure -- and so I think it's worth discussing and debating before we march so confidently into that frontier.
There's a difference between being a luddite and having legitimate concerns, so don't doubt yourself so easily!
True enough. I don't mean to say any skepticism of new technology might just be me being crotchety. If I have taken the time to understand the technology, well then yes, I do feel I have the right to critique it, even if I am 100 years old.
What I'm really getting at is the kind of response that Franzen is making. He's basically saying that ebooks just don't feel right, and that they aren't as as reassuring to him as books. That's the kind of critique I want to avoid as I get older. BTW, yeah, big issues about the cloud.