Sunday, January 30, 2005
Technology and How We Write
The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review > Essay: Tool for Thought
Nice essay in the Sunday Times on the impact of associative indexing programs on the writing process.
I'm not sure I agree that word processors have had a "less than revolutionary" impact, though. They've certainly changed the way I write. Back in the old days, when I thought the electric typewriter with an auto-whiteout key was the height of technology, I was still forced to outline my thoughts, and structure my paragraphs and sentences before commiting them to the page. The word processor makes it easier to get thoughts down quickly--full sentences, fragments. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know. But prior to word processing, I spent more time in planning and preparation; now I spend more time in editing and restructuring.
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Nice essay in the Sunday Times on the impact of associative indexing programs on the writing process.
I'm not sure I agree that word processors have had a "less than revolutionary" impact, though. They've certainly changed the way I write. Back in the old days, when I thought the electric typewriter with an auto-whiteout key was the height of technology, I was still forced to outline my thoughts, and structure my paragraphs and sentences before commiting them to the page. The word processor makes it easier to get thoughts down quickly--full sentences, fragments. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know. But prior to word processing, I spent more time in planning and preparation; now I spend more time in editing and restructuring.
