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bennett's picture

 I really like your second

 I really like your second point – I think that one of the things that technology and the generally increased bigness of the world allows for is a plenitude of different forms of expression and different things expressed. Now, I think, more than ever we have the opportunity to present things in ways that are tailored to engage with people in whatever way best works for them; biology and social theory are not confined to books anymore (even though I guess it's still the standard). And I think there's a lot to be said for the limits of books or text generally (hopefully we'd also mention their still-great value to us and the distinct features that make them so functional and special!).

I think also, though, that it might (more than ever) be a case of the increased bigness of the world and the widespread dissemination of technology that makes us (by which I mean me, really) sort of bad readers. I feel like my brain has to handle so many inputs and outputs all the time, in forms that are pretty new and unprecedented, and that it has a hard time doing slower, more deliberate things than I remember being capable of when I was younger. I don't want to be alarmist or extreme – I don't think it's "the end of the book" or that "It's our fault that we get bored of texts" (I really don't, I totally agree with you here, Simone) , but I do think that "there's a chance that our culture has an significant impact on the ways that our processes information and assigns attention."

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