Inventing a Writing Technology
At first glance, inventing a new writing technology seems like an easy task. The pencil is a writing technology, and what’s so complicated about it? It appears to be a fairly primitive writing utensil. Certainly, I can conjure up something that reasonably fits the description of a “new writing technology.” But looking a little more deeply, I have to consider that the basic concept of the pencil has lasted for centuries – it apparently serves its purpose extremely well. And, in reality, in 2004, there are hundreds of companies who, in turn, employ thousands whose specific purpose is to design and produce these seemingly simple hand-held writing devices. It’s beginning to sound a little more complicated. Lastly, a pencil has an inherent efficiency and portability that is hard to beat. Within the structure of my given assignment, I don’t think I can invent the “next pencil”, but the following describes my best attempt at inventing a new writing technology, and some reflections on the relationship between writing and technology:
Inventing and Writing
To generate a focus for this project, I mentally brainstormed ideas and progressed from “natural” materials (grass, twigs) to various household materials (Diet Coke labels, pipe cleaners, foil), until I started going through my closets and hit upon the concept of utilizing board games in some way. Since we needed to use an alphabet, but no writing materials, most games were eliminated – they use paper cards or symbolic “pieces.” Scrabble seemed perfect since it has a movable alphabet – small wooden “tiles” with letters imprinted on them. And besides, it’s my favorite childhood game, probably since I could win when I played again...
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...nne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 35-53.
Eisenstein, Elizabeth. “Some Features of Print Culture.” 1983. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 124-134.
National Scrabble Association. “History of Scrabble.” 2 July 2004 <http://scrabble-assoc.com/info/history.html>.
Ong, Walter. “Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought.” 1985. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Anne Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 315-337.
Plato. “Phaedrus.” Trans. H. N. Fowler, 1914. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Evelyn B. Tribble and Ann Trubek. New York: Longman, 2003. 360-364.
Tribble, Evelyn B. and Trubek, Ann. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. New York: Longman, 2003
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