Wednesday, December 30, 2009
12:16 AM
Encyclopedias
I really don't remember for certain which brand of Encyclopedias we owned. I just remember them being brown like these. Before the computer age, we school kids actually had to dig through BOOKS to find the information we needed for term papers, etc. Imagine that! I hated having to use them because whether they were ours, or some of the ones that belonged to the schools or to the library, they were always dusty, and the pages were always uncomfortably dry to the touch. The dust mites drove my allergies crazy (though I didn't know about allergies at the time because we didn't go to the doctor for non-emergency issues very often) and the feel of the pages sent chills up my spine and made my teeth hurt. I'm still the same way today. I don't know what it is about super dry, rough things that grate on my senses like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Besides that, the time it took to do any legitimate "research" for school papers via encyclopedias was exponentially longer than the time it takes today to research the same things via computer. The computer/internet also offers color photos, video, and sound which makes the learning process far more impactful and enjoyable.
My ears, eyes, nose, and throat thank You, God for the nerdy, scary smarts you gave to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs so that I can research things today without needing an allergy shot and a week's worth of Benedryl. : )