An elegy for the technical book
I’ve been doing a lot of technical investigation over the last few months as part of our plans for The Law Wizard. Part of that means that I’ve been doing a fair bit of technical reading whilst playing around with lots of new technology.
Brain..not..working
For some reason I really struggle to start with a technology when reading a computer screen. My brain seems to shut down and refuse to do anything, so I often resort to printing stuff off and then reading it.
Printing stuff off works OK, but it often means you have to chase around, finding the articles or pages that interest you. Sometimes you just want everything in once place. Sometimes there is nothing better than getting your hands on a printed manual that really starts to explain the technology to you. My tiny brain can then relax and the information that I need starts to seep in. I’m sure I’m not alone here.
However I’m finding an increasing problem with technical books these days is that as soon as they are printed and in your hand, they’re out of date. The technology has moved on, and that nifty new feature you wanted to use doesn’t even appear in the book. I’m not the only one who has noticed that problem either
Goodbye my old friend?
With Messrs iPad and Kindle on the scene, it is more and more likely that technical books will be delivered in ‘e-book’ format. This will also mean that as and when new features are added, the book will be updated and pushed to our ‘e-reader’ devices automatically. It will be great, knowing that your manual will never be out-of-date.
But on the other hand I can feel my brain already starting to revolt. “You can’t learn when reading from a screen”, it taunts. It has me rushing to Amazon to check the availability date on the second edition of the technical book instead.
Technology brings change to all areas, and technical books are not immune. I’m looking forward to more up-to-date documentation, and I’ll convince my brain that reading from a screen isn’t that hard and it’s just being lazy.
But deep down I also yearn for a updated print copy of the technical book in my hands. There is something rewarding about thumbing through the pages and learning the intricacies of the technology. I hope I’m not alone in feeling that way.
