Library on Mars
Reading in the 21st century
Case study no. 1
"[...] back in the days of Roman numerals, basic multiplication was considered this incredibly technical concept that only official mathematicians could handle [...].
But then once Arabic numerals came around, you could actually do arithmetic on paper, and we found that 7-year-olds can understand multiplication.
It’s not that multiplication itself was difficult. It was just that the representation of numbers — the interface — was wrong."
Bret Victor, interaction designer, researcher, …
Case study no. 2
Normally you'd need ~20 seconds to read such text. Try this in 30 seconds:
Did Jake take or not take the medicine?
Why did Lori help Jake?
What danger does Jake face?
Are you able to answer these questions?
Did the way the text was presented allow you to notice or think about the actual information captured in the text as you would like?
It is written in style called Scriptio continua - the prevalent way of writing texts in the western world for over 1500 years (its gradual death came between 9th and 14th century AD).
Paleographers today identify the extinction of Scriptio continua as a critical factor in augmenting the widespread absorption of knowledge in the Pre-Modern Era.
Can we still further improve our understanding of texts?
Texts nowadays.
(so static,
JavaScript under-used and misused)
But, in our minds, do they look more like something like this?
Reading is an active effort.
There is a lot of thinking going on in our heads when we read a text, but we don't get a chance to mirror - and build on top of - basically any of it while we read. We have to hold it all in our heads.
So many of our thinking steps get lost. I believe it has consequences.
What if we could do things like this - as default - when reading?
Would we be able to extract the meaning of text better?
Would we be able to see connections in it better?
Would text become more accessible?
Would we remember it all better?
Would "the book" then really become the mirror of our mind?
We have many powerful mental capacities but do not consider using them in such an important act as a reading (and typography).
What happens if we use them?
What will it enable us to see?
Have a read. With superpowers.
Enraged? Enraptured? Contact marko@library-on-mars.com