Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming

[Anonymous]

Normally, I wouldn't use this faggoty iframe thingy, but why going through the trouble of copy-pasting something none of you dumbasses are going to bother to read because it's too long & thinking hurts?

[ZahZoo]

Can't argue the value of literature... It's the ability to create record keeping and sharing of ideas that have single handedly allowed humans to evolve and become increasingly intelligent in such a short period of time in relation to the millions of years of evolution that led up to our existence.

The challenge for libraries as we know them is more of a capital expense and logistics issue today...

When the world was smaller and the amount of information to be stored was significantly smaller... a centralized repository within a community could fill the need. But buildings and the ability to physically store paper products is no longer feasible both in cost and the size of space needed to house the explosion of information today. Simple technology such as a thumb drive today can safely hold the contents of what your local library housed 20 years ago.

The question is... what will the library of the future look like 10 years from now..?

[DONNIEP]

10 years from now? Hahahahaha!! At the rate this country is shitting itself down the economic toilet we'll be burning books to keep warm. Ah, at least we'll be able to look back and say "Well, we gave all those Welfare Cock suckers a good long free ride. Pass me some Shakespeare, I gotta crap on deck that would choke a donkey!"

[DONNIEP]

And here's how that frame loads on my phone, after it takes forever to load:

[Anonymous]

Can't argue the value of literature... It's the ability to create record keeping and sharing of ideas that have single handedly allowed humans to evolve and become increasingly intelligent in such a short period of time in relation to the millions of years of evolution that led up to our existence.

The challenge for libraries as we know them is more of a capital expense and logistics issue today...

When the world was smaller and the amount of information to be stored was significantly smaller... a centralized repository within a community could fill the need. But buildings and the ability to physically store paper products is no longer feasible both in cost and the size of space needed to house the explosion of information today. Simple technology such as a thumb drive today can safely hold the contents of what your local library housed 20 years ago.

The question is... what will the library of the future look like 10 years from now..?

Well, much as it pains me to say this, Mr. Gaiman is an idealist, so his advice shouldn't be followed to the letter.

I agree with you that the costs of maintaining huge buildings full of fire hazards is increasingly becoming a pipe dream, but the real problem here is the lack of alternatives.

Neil's fond memories of nice librarians are heart-warming, if not outright laughable, but he's right in that we need to have places, physical, real places devoted to the storage & access of common, as it were, works of fiction.

The format of paper is arguable, but there is a difference on mindlessly clicking something at home & the actual, physical transit from your home to a place that's purposefully built for the perusal of such texts, regardless of the format they're in.

How do we do that, then? Well, it's especially difficult to come up with a solution just now, as we're just over the middle of a transitory period. While we do have devices that already allow for comfortable reading, they're still not up to par.

There is also an increasing gap between the mentality of the old guard and the newer generations. The old farts still struggle with all their might to romanticise paper, and they do a lot more damage than good with that nonsense. You see, kids WILL take notice, and they will parrot that feeling that reading on a screen is not the same as reading on paper. Except they have a screen in their hands 24/7 & they will never pick up a book. So in practice, what this does is effectively provide kids with an excuse NOT to read.

We should just accept that screens, for better or for worse, are the way to go.

[Anonymous]

And here's how that frame loads on my phone, after it takes forever to load:

Well sorry about that, but did you see the size of the article?

I honestly wasn't expecting anyone to read it, so you understand that it would be a massive waste of time to copy paste that over here.

[DONNIEP]

Well sorry about that, but did you see the size of the article?

I honestly wasn't expecting anyone to read it, so you understand that it would be a massive waste of time to copy paste that over here.

Oh it loads on my PC, it's slow but it loads. But on my phone? Nope - all I get is the half screen you see above. But at least these faggity frames don't show up on the main page anymore. I do like that you can have the pictures that accompanied whatever story show up in the post without having to upload them to a hoster and go through the couple of clicks it takes to embed them in the post. But the rest of the crap needs to go - nobody needs to see the header, nobody cares what a bunch of stupid fucking idiots post below the article, and nobody wants to see tampon ads and links to a gazillion other pages below all that. I mean, if we're going to have linked advertising then the board should be making some fuckin money off of it, if we're going to have to wait for all of it to load and then scroll past all of it.

Von's frame of the James Dean death car story is a good example - great article, great pictures. But the rest of the crap below is just a bunch of linked up clutter.

So get off my grass and quit ruinin' my life!!

[vandeleur]

Neil Gaiman is pretty much the definitive version of cool

[Anonymous]

Oh it loads on my PC, it's slow but it loads. But on my phone? Nope - all I get is the half screen you see above. But at least these faggity frames don't show up on the main page anymore. I do like that you can have the pictures that accompanied whatever story show up in the post without having to upload them to a hoster and go through the couple of clicks it takes to embed them in the post. But the rest of the crap needs to go - nobody needs to see the header, nobody cares what a bunch of stupid fucking idiots post below the article, and nobody wants to see tampon ads and links to a gazillion other pages below all that. I mean, if we're going to have linked advertising then the board should be making some fuckin money off of it, if we're going to have to wait for all of it to load and then scroll past all of it.

Von's frame of the James Dean death car story is a good example - great article, great pictures. But the rest of the crap below is just a bunch of linked up clutter.

So get off my grass and quit ruinin' my life!!

[Anonymous]

Neil Gaiman is pretty much the definitive version of cool

Yes, he is. Not your stereotypical nerd at all.

And when he talks, people should listen!

[DONNIEP]

I love the picture. Only I despise flannel and I never, ever wear green. Green, unless it's camo, should never be worn by any man. And if you're stalking around being a spy or a tactical ninja - a black turtleneck is the way to go. The tactical turtleneck. The Tactleneck!

[Anonymous]

Wait, green is gay too?

I can't keep up.

And if you're stalking around being a spy or a tactical ninja - a black turtleneck is the way to go. The tactical turtleneck. The Tactleneck!

I have no idea how we went from rants to being a ninja - a tactical one, at that.

I gather that flannel somehow connects the too, but once again, I can't keep up.

[DONNIEP]

Wait, green is gay too?

I can't keep up.



I have no idea how we went from rants to being a ninja - a tactical one, at that.

I gather that flannel somehow connects the too, but once again, I can't keep up.

I was saying that green is only acceptable for camo. However, since I don't live in a jungle, the only appropriate urban camo to be seen in while dashing around like a spy is a black Tactleneck.

Geez, it's not that hard to understand. I even provided a handy visual reference.

[Kristy]

Archer blows.

[DONNIEP]

Archer is the best show on TV.

I know, right??

[cadaverdog]

I was saying that green is only acceptable for camo. However, since I don't live in a jungle, the only appropriate urban camo to be seen in while dashing around like a spy is a black Tactleneck.

Urban camo? I thought you lived in the suburbs/boonies.