Last week I missed my publication deadline for the “Now and Then” column because my computer was down. I’m a bit ashamed of that, not only for allowing myself to get caught without a backup way to get my writing done, but also because the whole premise of “Now and Then” is to try to maintain a sensible perspective regarding old ways and new ways of doing things.
It would have been unimaginable in 1957 when I was graduating from high school to be reporting that I couldn’t write my article this week because my computer was down. We knew almost nothing of computers then, and it would be some 20 years later that we began hearing that a few companies were beginning to make personal computers. I was interested in computers then, not so much for doing things like writing or record keeping, but just because I was curious as to how they couldwork, and what did it mean to “program” a computer?
I have almost prided myself at times for trying to keep alive some old ways of doing things, even as I embrace new ways of working. Often the old cautions and principles of preparedness continue to apply to the new technologies even as they did to the old, just in different ways.
For example, my experience of having the computer go down was a reminder of the importance of having a backup of your working files. I had fallen into being lackadaisical about backups, so when my machine went down I had no other way to get to my stuff, even though I have a laptop computer that I should have been able to turn to. I ended up spending time trying as much aspossible to get the laptop set up to handle the work, rather than being able to do the work itself.
Even in the days when writers relied on typewriters, the need for having renewable supplies on hand was very important, as was keeping seven copies of on-going papers filed away and easily found.
Something about the typewriter might break, or the inky ribbon might dry out or snarl or break, keys might stick, or an electrical failure might disable the electric typewriters.
Or, looking further back in time, if you relied on a fountain pen for your writing, you needed to have an extra on hand in case the point became malformed, or the ink channel became distorted, or the ink bulb burst and leaked the ink all over everywhere. And, it was a problem if you ran out of ink or ran out of paper right when you needed to get some things written.
I have tended to be critical when I see an over-reliance on new technology.
Whenever someone is unable to make change at the checkout counter without relying on the computer or calculator, or when the store can’t sell you something because the computer is down, or the doctor can’t look up your medical records because “our system network is out of whack today.” So I need to get myself better prepared for handling these times when “the computer is down.”
I’m thinking of how resourceful people have been across the centuries in finding ways to write, even without the technological advances that we now take for granted. Great books have been written, using laborious hand methods, without even the advantage of a fountain pen.
When the Bible was being written, there were no printing presses, no fountain pens, no type-setters of any kind. Everything was put on paper by a pen in hand, drawing oftenfrom a supply of ink, since the writing instruments had no ink reservoir. But it didn’t stop people from writing books, or letters, or preparing business papers or legal documents. My son and I have recently been looking at some old documents from our family, dated between 1910 and 1930, and even old census records, all handwritten. It makes one appreciate good penmanship, since some are hard to read. My point, though, is that lacking typewriters or computers didn’t prevent them from doing the important papers that they needed!
I’m one of those people who still thinks we need to be able to write with a pen or pencil, and that we shouldn’t become over-reliant on things like smart phones and PDAs and cloud computing.
I still write out lists of things I need to do with pen and paper. When I speak publicly, I still rely on hand-written notes. So I admit to being distressedto hear that some educators are thinking toward eliminating instruction in cursive writing from the curriculum of schools. I’m even resisting getting my phone set up for texting.
Now there is a strange phenomenon for you. How did we ever adopt such an awkward way of writing to each other? One has to learn the language of the thumb! I see that some phones have this teeny keyboard. That might help a bit, at least if your fingers are not too big to use the little keys. Now, how about those keyboards on screen? Please give me a keyboard with keys that fit the fingers and which bounce a little under your touch as you type.
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Editor’s note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is an award-winning columnist, a retired Methodist minister with a passion for history. He is vice president of the Pea Ridge Historical Society. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], or call 621-1621.
Community, Pages 5 on 04/17/2013