I have been sorting through my books in preparation to move and sell my house. I have realized that the encyclopedias and many of the reference books that I had bought over the years have been made redundant by the Internet, notably Google and Wikipedia. I am keeping one unabridged dictionary and one general encyclopedia both for sentimental reasons and for those rare occasions that I might not have web access from my house. It struck me, though, the usually uncontemplated far reach that the Internet has and the changes made in our lives and expectations.

When I was young and foolish, I was a huge fan of the vision of the future presented by the original Star Trek series, especially that fascinating tool the “library computer” that seemingly had not only a huge repository of knowledge but analytical capabilities rivaling those of human beings. For someone like me, for whom knowledge was my source of solace and a possible font of understanding in a world populated by incomprehensible beings with whom I shared humanity but not connections, the library computer was like a holy grail.

I recall reading old science fiction stories, those written in the golden age of pulp magazines, in the 30s through to the 50s, when asides in the stories wrote of people treasuring books because they were no longer used.

I was compelled to write even in those long ago days, and I was frequently confronted with an empty page in the typewriter where the stark whiteness of the blank page matched the barren landscape of my creativity.

Now, with our modern technology I am faced with a glowing screen that isn’t quite as barren as that white page, but it has a cursor blinking with impatience at my idleness.

Hmmm…

I’m not sure which is better.

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