From: Kate Distin (memes@distin.co.uk)
Date: Sat 15 Apr 2006 - 09:38:47 GMT
Robin Faichney wrote:
> Friday, April 14, 2006, 9:47:52 PM, Scott wrote:
>
>
>> Do the provcesses of reading versus listening have any
>> effects on the way content is apprehended by the receiver? Are the
>> substrates truly neutral?
>>
>
> Not sure what you have in mind there, but I'd insist that the book and
> the (unedited) tape or CD of someone reading it contain the same
> information, even though the medium might have various effects on the
> memetic propagation. I suppose it's a matter of degree, though, when
> the total packages -- content plus medium effects -- are compared.
> Maybe book and CD are 98% the same? Also, I think it's important to
> distinguish between effects on the individuals encountering the
> packages on one hand from distribution differentials on the other. I'd
> guess medium has more effect on the latter than the former.
>
>
The substrate is not neutral. It has an impact in all sorts of ways -
some media are not as good as others at long-term preservation, some
cannot hold information with the same accuracy as others (CD vs. vinyl)
and some as you say have a different impact on individuals encountering
the information - but as you emphasise this doesn't mean that [almost]
the same information cannot be preserved in each.
Kate
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