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BOOKS AS MACHINES
Author(s) -
Patkin Michael
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1971.tb87423.x
Subject(s) - elegance , innocence , simplicity , terminology , computer science , stack (abstract data type) , art , aesthetics , philosophy , programming language , linguistics , law , epistemology , political science
Seen suddenly with the eyes of innocence, a book is a remarkable machine for the storage and retrieval of information. Compared with a tape recording, it has the advantages of sheer quantity of information, simplicity especially for access, and organization of material; it is not possible to skim through a tape, which commits the user to complete involvement. In McLuhan's (1964) terminology, the latter corresponds to a “hot” rather than a “cool” medium. Analysed in innocence a little further, a book consists of a stack of rectangular membranes attached to a binding, with protective and identifying covers. The elegance of ancient scrolls must have been matched by a lack of convenience comparable to that felt till the time when the cork stopper was invented.