John D. Barrow in p. 13 of [1], writes about the influence of computers in our life. He says that even a mundane computer-based activity, like word processing, has done more than just making writing and editing more efficient: it has altered the way in which writers think. They used to write because they had something to say; now they write in order to discover if they have something to say. I confess that I am still thinking if this is really true and, if so, if this contributes to production of better or worse literature… I suspect that the relations are more intrincate. For sure, the amount of garbage in our bookstores is growing.
[1] John D. Barrow, Impossibility, Oxford University Press, 1998.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Concerning Rafael Rosende's comment:
Si, de hecho word processing es interesante para tornar la vida más facil. Yo me acuerdo de esas películas que muestran escritores en un día sin inspiración sobre una máquina de escribir, rabiosos, tirando las pelotas de papel por todo lado. Sin dudas, la vida asi es mucho más facil. Una maquina como un laptop, donde puedo escribir, editar, mirar libros, diccionarios, enciclopedias, escuchar musica, ver películas, mandar y recibir cartas. Que diría Borges de eso ? Aún me queda un poco de dudas sobre la diferencia de lo que significa escribir algo en editor de texto y escribir a mano con lapis. Yo, sin dudas escribo diferente, mejor ó peor no sé, pero con formas distintas.
About Word Processing
and how it has altered
the way in which writers think...
Well, probably its true
that the amount of garbage
in our bookstores is growing,
but there's also a good side also.
Like someone said
in the context of evolution,
we are more the product
of editing rather than authorship.
Word processing
makes editing easier
in the sense that you can
select, copy, paste,
rearrange texts,
add some thought,
quote from another, etc.
In one word, compose.
You can compose something
easier than before this era,
and then see what
this kind of work is about.
It's something good
that helps you to understand
better what you were searching.
Maybe, there is
something new there,
and you can learn from it.
Also it can be a lot of crap.
Then, you delete.
The important thing
is to be honest
and go on and on,
searching for a bit
of truth or beauty
that's worthwhile.
If its better or worse «literature»
or even a «scientific prose»
it's up to the talent (and luck)
of each one.
In any case, as D'Annunzio
wrote long time ago:
half of what its written,
no one reads it;
half of what is read
is not understood
and half of what is understood,
is misunderstood.
Anyway, like a chilean poet said:
you have to trust in words.
People say, «facts not words».
But for a poet,
the words are the facts.
Rafael Rosende
November 30, 2005
Post a Comment