Oxford English Dictionary 'will not be printed again'

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Bethberry

Avoiding or ignoring evidence to the contrary (while a common habit in court cases) is not a way to influence discussion and win debates.

I wasn't trying to avoid or ignore anything– I just don't agree that "the medium is the message". That was the point. (Also, I thought it would sound pretentious )

Originally Posted by Bethberry

As the points which both Hilde and Ibrin raise make clear, the medium does influence content. It could well be that certain stories/information/text will be relegated to e-texts while a different line of story and graphic and information will be treated to paper.

I didn't say it doesn't influence content, I said content is more important– "especially when we're dealing with text in each case". The difference between oral and written language is much greater. I don't think it matters that much whether text is written/displayed on paper or on a screen. Recall that the claim is that novels as we know them will cease to exist:

Originally Posted by davem

A generation (maybe two or three away) brought up entirely on e-texts/websites will not 'get' a book like LotR in the way we do, because 'books' will not carry the same meaning or relevance to them

I'm just saying, I think that's unfounded.

It is of course, hard to predict how technology will develop– I mean, if at some point in the futire everything goes holographic, or is beamed directly into our brains, or [insert sci-fi scenario here], now that would make a difference.