With hypermedia I can leap tall tomes of information with a single click and swhoosh through cyberspace at swashbuckling speed to another world filled with still more information. But sometimes I wonder if maybe as I bounce from one screen to the next, I’m missing the depth of thought possible from reading and reflecting on an article or a book with chapters laid out in a purposeful way by the author.
I have been told that I am a free spirit. I admit I don‘t always think linearly. I like to have multiple ideas swirling around simultaneously. So, hyperlinks don’t bother me - much. I’m glad for them. Though I must admit I try not to click away until I’ve read the entire article through. But sometimes if I'm not really engaged in what I'm reading, I'll click - to be transported to another place. It's exciting.
I do worry, though, whether with Google and the explosion of hyperlinks, we may not be researching and thinking deeply. We grow impatient with articles that are more than a few paragraphs in length. It’s so easy to bounce from one idea to another, skimming through information, going off on tangents, until we run out of time and have to leave the computer. What do we have to show for the session? Have we researched in depth, have we reflected on what we have read, have we constructed knowledge or just skimmed the surface and picked up a few tidbits for tonight's cocktail conversation? Maybe we bookmarked a site or squirreled away some file, but aren't we just kidding ourselves? Will we ever come back to that information, and when we do, will we remember why we thought it was important in the first place?
Please stop by to have a cup of coffee and share a poem or saying that has shaped your outlook on life.
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