From: Spike Jones (spike66@ibm.net)
Date: Fri Sep 15 2000 - 23:01:58 MDT
> Spike writes: > Truth is, I dont read
> > nearly as many books now as I did in my misspent youth. Now,
> > in my misspent adulthood, the internet has taken the place of a
> > lot of that, not just the lists, but web surfing, etc.
>
> [hal@finney.org finds] this to be true as well. Surfing the net and
> reading mailing lists is relaxing and entertaining, mental fast-food
> compared to the nourishing meal of a good book. Maybe we need to go on
> an intellectual "diet" occasionally, get some good nutrition.
I have toyed with this notion, but I keep deciding that written
material is not necessarily more profound or more relevant just
because it managed to get printed on dead trees. In fact, often
just the opposite is true. The dead trees thing has the advantage
of being highly edited, where the lists are not. On the other hand,
the list stuff is highly focussed and up to date. Furthermore, it
responds to exactly what one asks. Sometimes. A book is strictly
one-way communication, and you are on the receiving end.
Nowthen, I point no fingers, for I am a hopeless internet junky,
with 6 other lists besides this one, plus several websites that I
monitor every day. This obsession even crowds out the TV,
but I can give it up any time I want. If I want. Badly enough.
To prove it, and to devour an ever growing stack of books, I will
not touch my email, not even log on, for twoooo fuuulll weeeeeks.
See ya. {8-] spike
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