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Umberto Eco on Paper vs. Electronic Memory

Posted by michael on from the three-sheets-to-the-wind dept.

joabj writes "Paper was itself a technology at one point, this essay from Umberto Eco, author of "In The Name of the Rose," reminds us. Eco holds forth on the differences between paper and electronic memory. He doesn't come out in favor of either, rather he talks about the advantages each has, in technical terms. Some fascinating ideas here...."

2 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. the english version?! by mydigitalself · · Score: 0, Troll

    "We have also known another kind of memory, the vegetal one, the one represented by the first papyruses, again well known in this country, and then on books, made of paper. Let me disregard the fact that at a certain moment the vellum of the first codices were of an organic origin, and the fact that the first paper was made with rugs and not with wood. Let me speak for the sake of simplicity of vegetal memory in order to designate books."

    i'm all for good english, but some people are really so far up their own asses that they have to write content that you need a frikking dictionary open at all times to read!

  2. Re:Paper Electronics (for many things anyhow) by Trigun · · Score: 0, Troll

    a surprisingly high amount of culture is going to vanish before it enters the public domain

    Let's just hope it's Hip-hop culture that gets lost first.