They sit on my bookshelf, alone, neglected, and lonely. Once they were highly valued, a world of information. They are my beautiful set of World Book Encyclopedias. And, they are as out-dated as the dinosaurs.
Why are they out-dated and unused? The internet, of course. Why go to the trouble of opening a book, shuffling through alphabetically, and coming upon the information needed which is probably too old to be of any use any more, when I can go to the computer, type anything I want to know on the search bar, and, presto! There it is in a few seconds.
I remember how hard I worked to get this set of World Book, and the set of Childcraft, and the Cyclo-Teacher, the Dictionaries, the atlas. But, I never use them. Once, I did, but technology has crowded them out.
In fact, I have two sets of Childcraft and the older set is my favorite. It has those wonderful old poems and nursery rhymes, the fables and children’s stories that have been around for centuries. Sometimes I open one of those old Childcraft books and re-read, just for the fun of it.
Many other things have gone the way of the dinosaurs, things I used to take for granted, things that slipped out of use so slowly that I didn’t realize they had gone until one day I wondered why no one uses cursive writing any more? Or, why isn’t shorthand being taught in schools? Or home ec? These were all big things in school once upon a time.
Well, of course, the reason is clear. Those things aren’t needed any more. I have a sneaking fear that perhaps, some day people may be obsolete. I hear about robots doing our work for us, performing operations, driving cars, providing companionship. A trickle of fear runs down my spine. Are these warning signs? Will I, one day, sit alone on a dusty shelf somewhere, watching a modern, mechanized world whirr and click and fly right past me? I feel empathy for my sets of World Book and the poor old dinosaurs.
I like this. Well said. So many things are like that. I got rid of my encyclopedias long time ago when we moved – 2006. Even then, the internet was providing many things we need. Sometimes I wonder what would happen in a blackout – would we know where to look for information? My mother always said that it didn’t matter how much information you had stored in your brain. The real test came in knowing where to look for it. (the information, not the brain.)
Thanks for writing, Linda. Your mom was a wise person. She was exactly right. Have you ever heard a question on Jeopardy and thought, “I know that”, but couldn’t think of the answer for anything. I have. It was really a shock to me when, a few years ago, I realized that the “old days” was referring to the 1950s. That would make me pretty ancient.