the old chemistry books that collect dust on the shelves of my house concern me. will the books that i am using in school now appear so archaic to my children as the old calculus books of the 1980's? will papered books seem like days of yore to them as they all gather all their information from the internet and their electronic reading devices? that's a pity. books are romantic...like records. it's sad to see the decline of the album. the cds, and before that the records (let's be honest, we can all do without the cassettes and VHSes) because the physical proof of our interests is disappearing. it used to take serious music collectors lifetimes to build collections of records from various eclectic shops and trades and whatnot. now, i can have all the music i've even ever heard of (and more, believe me) at the touch of a fingertip. yes, my music library is more diverse, but i argue it means less. that's concerning as well. will my 20 beyonce singles that i bounce along to in the car ever mean half as much as one EP to some 21 year old 30 years ago? i was trying to assemble some sort of list of albums that i would invest in if the record buying scheme was still the same today as 20 years ago...
for sures:
revolver/rubber soul/sgt. pepper/the white album-the beatles
transatlanticism/plans-dcfc
give up-the postal service
bob dylan's greatest hits
blame it on gravity-the old 97's
the lion king soundtrack
but how would i ever know that those were my favorite albums? i know that i love them by exposure and reexposure on my ipod/itunes/other people's itunes/ipods that also got the music through somewhat unsavory means. i'd probably just like the same songs as everyone else on the radio, especially now, knowing me and how lazy i've become with the music discovery.
but the books thing, that really has me going. i love my books, and my kindle, while great and all, is just helping the inevitable right along. is it inevitable? will books disappear? will kids in school also cease to learn regular writing in favor of typing or even oral dictation, as cursive has disappeared? (cursive, in the old days, was supposedly faster than printing letters, fancy that)
other concerns:
will cereal boxes become animated? (no more annoying jingles, please)
will tv's become totally rewindable all the time?
will my shower curtain tell me what the outside temperature is and how to dress for the day?
will siri have grandchildren who interact with my grandchildren?
will apple products always be superior?
will the globe come up with some sort of universal identification that can access emergency medical records quickly for every human being?
will my children use retinal scans to get into their lockers instead of my combination lock?
will the house i buy have sound that follows me from room to room and automatic lighting?
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