Despite the proliferation of digital styluses and content, print still survives, dashing declarations of its inevitable doom. Why is the world still in a limbo between paper and digital?
Despite the proliferation of digital styluses and content, print still survives, dashing declarations of its inevitable doom. Why is the world still in a limbo between paper and digital?
It has never been easier to work digitally. For artists making digital artwork, there’s the Wacom Intuos Creative Stylus 2, and the Wacom Bamboo Smart stylus. There’s also the Apple Pencil, which, you lets you do far more than writing or drawing, but only when used with an iPad Pro.
If you look beyond the stylus, there are the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 5; both highly popular hybrids that incorporate a stylus. Indeed, print is dying, but that’s because it’s so much easier to work off a word processer, to chase people with emails over post mail, and read sensational drivel on a rumor site instead of a gossip magazine.
So with businesses, artists and your typical white-collar worker with a stylus-enabled smartphone moving their written work onto the digital platform, why do we still fall back on physical books when it comes to reading?
Our own HWM folks have polarizing opinions on the matter. Some claim that e-books are superior; given how much physical space and money they save, while the supporters of paperbacks argue that nothing beats the smell of opening a good book.
On the surface, it sounds like a terrible, emotional argument for books to stay, marred further by their environmentally destructive origins. But what if there’s actually more to physical books that we didn’t notice?
Reading a physical book makes a map in your mind
The Scientific American claims that paperbacks have the advantage over digital formats. Paper books are superior in terms of feel and fl ow, thanks to their physical form. Reading is defined by the left and right pages, framed by corners which help readers orient themselves and focus without losing track of progress.
Each physical page you turn creates a visible trail of progress, compounded by the relative thickness of pages read in your left hand, and the pages remaining nested in your right. Every page fl ip also creates a sense of rhythm.
All this is further amplifi ed with how our human brains perceive reading – the academic International Journal of Human-Computer Studies noted that text is mentally represented by meanings tied to structure, just like how we read terrain on maps.
Behavioral studies also argue that people recall written information by remembering the location of where the text appeared. Anecdotally speaking, I had no trouble remembering how George Orwell’s 1984 had a distinct pattern to it – with the third quarter of the book going knee-deep into political ideology after the protagonist meets his contact at a bar.
Paper versus Digital
But isn’t digital text far more intuitive, with the ability to search for key phrases at a whim? It’s certainly more convenient, but digitized books rob the reader from getting the experience to mentally picture their reading progress.
And these implemented features still can’t take away the greatest bane there is to the web-reading experience – scrolling. From Wired’s research piece on paper versus digital, psychologist Erik Wästlund at Sweden’s Karlstad University pointed out that scrolling through digital text created more distraction, compared to fl ipping a page.
The need to search for a new focus point after each swipe also distracted a reader from their text, and the psychologist said that the mental resources spent on scrolling could have been spent on understanding the text instead.
Even with these features, books dominate because of their innate ability to track progress by thickness instead of page number. That alone is enough to tell us how subconsciously powerful a physical book is to a reader, even with the convenience of free literature compressed onto an easily accessible hard drive.
While it’s easier than ever to capture your thoughts digitally, it seems physical books still provide the better reading experience. That helps to explain why tablets and screens still haven’t replaced the good old paper book.
“The International Journal of Human-Computer Studies noted that text is mentally represented by meanings tied to structure, just like how we read terrain on maps.”
THE BEST PAPER REPLACEMENTS YOU CAN GET
1. Phree stylus - US$198
This stylus is one of the few that openly boasts compatibility across multiple platforms: Android and iOS, Windows and OSX, as well as programs such as Evernote and Photoshop. It also has the ability to track your writing on any surface – including your own skin.
2. Wacom Intuos Creative Stylus 2 - $109
Designed for artists who work with iPads, this Bluetooth-connected stylus has 2,048 pressure levels and a durable stylus tip for extended use.
3. Microsoft Surface Pro 4 - From $1,399
This hybrid is everything in a neat little package. Getting the Surface Pro 4 isn’t just for the Surface Pen stylus, with its 1,024 pressure levels and magnetic attachment. What you’re really paying for is the full Windows 10 operating system and the hardware that supports it. Because of its configuration, it’s easy to jump in and out of digital work without much effort.
4. Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (32GB) - $1,088
It’s hard to avoid bringing up this Samsung phablet when you want to talk about wonderful stylus experiences on a device. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5’s S Pen is much more than a writing instrument – it functions as a third limb for people who like precision and pen-holding while on their smartphone. Use the S Pen to scroll through webpages, access shortcuts, and many more - all from the convenience of your palm.
5. Amazon Kindle Voyage - US$199
The Kindle devices by Amazon are regarded as the de-facto e-reader of choice, given their HD e-ink screen, automatic backlight, and intuitive handling. The latest iteration, the Kindle Voyage, comes with 4GB onboard storage and physical page-turning buttons called PagePress.
6. Kobo Glo HD - US$129.99
If you want something as powerful as an Amazon e-reader with epub file format compatibility and no advertising, try this instead. The Kobo Glo HD also comes with 4GB internal storage and the same Carta E Ink display at 300ppi. The makers claim that it has a two-month long battery life if you read 30 minutes a day, which is significantly more than what the Voyage offers on a single charge.
