In class Tuesday we discussed books and the internet. Many said they preferred the feel of books; others said they preferred the ease of the internet. I realized that I like both. Like Dr. Lillian, I hate being let down by books (like the Southern Anthology). Now, I prefer to read a book at Starbucks with my computer beside me. My Google Dashboard has Webster's Dictionary saved to it and listed in my internet favorites is Dictionary.com and Wikipedia.org. I have found that I go to books for information and perhaps the internet for understanding. This does not always work out of course, but it is a great start. What may be most interesting is internet use itself. I go to the net to gather information or confirm accuracy. The Survivor Spoilers use the internet to build hypotheses, etc. After browsing some of their sights I've realized how difficult it is to tell fact based information from popular ideas and pure lies. But, I am also seeing more and more of the "blogger dialectic" that I mentioned earlier on. The more participants ask questions and offer "proof," the more the truth seems to surface.
More later...
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2 comments:
This is such a good connection. I definitely do the same thing when I come upon an idea in books that doesn't quite make sense to me. I guess the reason we go to the net for research facts is because we want the information right away while we are into whatever book or article we're reading. It's so much easier to go online and enter a quick question on ask.com to better understand what we're reading than to pack up and head to the library in search of an encyclopedia or book on the topic. Our ADD, instant gratification culture dictates our research habits.
"I've realized how difficult it is to tell fact based information from popular ideas and pure lies." i also use the internet as a supplement to the ever-increasing volumes of bound word-text i have sitting on shelves and strewn throughout my living room. sites such as wikipedia i tend to trust only for vague details or background information, as well as there are few pages that i would ever cite within a formal essay. it seems that there is still an apprehension towards this technology, perhaps justified, and a stronger urge to list sources. even some current fiction, so i hear, insists on including a "works cited" page.
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