June 23, 2008
Low Tech Presentation: Paper or Electronics?
How much has technology improved our lives?
Beyond belief! you might say. Complications galore! Hate it! someone else might say. Even before our current electronic revolution, Thoreau had an opinion about the technology of his era:
"Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end."
While none of us would completely do away with the electronics in our lives, the ones surrounding us or sitting on our laps or attached to our ears right at this very minute, we do have to wonder: What have we given up?
In an article in the The Press Democrat, Staff writer Meg McConahey, touts the tactile pleasures enjoyed by some of today’s most fervent techies. In Pen and Paper Trump Tech, she presents examples and people who, while not disavowing their electronic toys, are turning to concrete objects they can touch and can derive comfort from using.
Silicon Valley forecaster Paul Saffo, tester of new high-tech gadgets before public release "…uses cash over a debit card, still writes a lot of paper checks, keeps a handwritten journal and prefers to consult a paper calendar over his PDA."
Some may view this as old-fashioned, but the physical contact with paper, the rounded feel of a favored pen, the touch of that pen to crisp paper, the softly worn cover of a personal journal – it all just makes some people feel good.
"We’re not Luddites," explains Eileen Clegg, visual communications consultant. "We just like what feels human to us."
At home, at play, even in the workplace, the use of daily tactile tools has not disappeared. It thrives.
Think about the tactile tools which can be used in presentation workshops. Flip charts and white boards versus PowerPoint presentations. Hand-written media or the human touch of a crudely drawn figure or flow chart can hold infinitely more charm than whatever numbers or words fill the projected images of a carefully crafted, slick presentation.
Aldous Huxley said: Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.
Let us hope a cautionary tale does not develop – one in which we lose our tactile treasures and the pleasures of hand-written words, the touch of a new sheet of paper, making plans in a little black book – as a result of the swift-moving technology of today’s world.
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Comments on Low Tech Presentation: Paper or Electronics? »
Without an extraordinarily large evolutionary bump in the road, I don't think that the desire and need for having physical contact with our surroundings will ever change, because we are inherently tactile beings. Everyday we engage our world through our senses, touch being one of them.
My company develops tools that help enhance communication processes using photographs. Our tools are very low-tech. When doing exercises, people manipulate the images in ways that make sense to them according to the question they are being asked.
The more senses people use the more the learning is stickier, ideas are generated, and deeper connections are made.
Our long range goals include having an online version to accommodate groups who are not in the same location. However, I don't foresee that this will ever replace the physical tool. The kinesthetic element is much too important to getting great results, because it brings one more dimension of our brains to the situation.
A timely post in our technical world. Thanks.
Tom,
Thanks for the comments. Your point about "more senses … stickier" is right on, in my estimation.
Let's keep the conversation going!
So many people today work in what is essentially a sensory deprivation chamber — lots of white noise, the bland walls of a cube, the hum of background conversations and ringing phones, the color-robbing light of overhead fluorescents, the a/c pulling all the scents out of the air, and so on and on. Add to that a day spent crouched over a computer looking at the screen pusing electronic pulses around. What do you get? Sensory deprivation. In that context, anything we can do to add color, sound, smell, touch, and taste is not only stimulating and interesting — it's necessary!
Nick,
Thanks for the comment. BTW, I think you've got a terrific blog going yourself.
Let's keep the conversation going!