Slow-tech...

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Scored a copy of Chambers Biographical Dictionary today, for two quid. Two quid!. On this edition's publication twenty years ago, it retailed at thirty-five pounds. I've scored similar coups recently, with a nice single volume Oxford Dictionary of English at the same price [original RP nearly forty quid], and a full-fat Roget's for again, two quid. You might ask why I would want all this old-school shelf-real-estate-hogging paperage when we've got the InterWorld™at our fingertips, on desktops, laptops, surfaces and phones: but my contention has always been that without electrons, all of that data and the information derived from it, disappears; as evanescent as morning mist. As long as you keep your books dry and away from flame, they will continue to serve you and your descendants well. The old saying about not putting all one's eggs in one basket springs to mind. There will come a day, when lost [for whatever reason] knowledge will only be recoverable from such analogue sources. Anyone still referencing the Domesday Project on LaserDisc? I would hazard not many are...

Comments

  1. Anonymous29 September 2023 at 07:29

    Can't remember where I put my copy of the Domesday Project on LaserDisc & the Phillips LazerDisc player, must be somewhere!!:)
    ATB
    Joe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous29 September 2023 at 09:04

      And would it even play if you did find it ;0)

      Delete

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