Why am I drawing this notebook? I could just take its picture and in a matter of seconds I would have a much more realistic image of it. Nevertheless photography wasn’t able to completely replace drawing like the computer didn’t push aside the book or notebook. Sure technology made them less needful, but so how did the notebook prevail in today’s digitized society?For people like me -who got familiar with the internet at a young age but still grew up drawing, tinkering their own toys- writing down things by hand is a nostalgic act and can be a cleansing process. Compared to the technologically advanced alternatives, a notebook doesn’t require electricity nor updates, which makes it much more reliable on a long term.
Although the laptop -not surprisingly also called notebook today- took over the original function of a notebook, the book of blank pages persisted as a primary venue for notes, drawings, organizing and brainstorming because it offers a more direct, simple and authentic way of visual thinking. It continues to be a flexible and individualized tool to create ideas and becomes in this manner an essential part of our personality.
I’m not sure how the new generation is going to experience this but somehow I think that the physical will always feel more real than the virtual.I believe the sensory experience of paper, the process of sketching or a distinct handwriting- even barely readable- are irreplaceable.
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