Though I completely agree that its important to visit archives personally, I disagree strongly with some of the things Walter Isaacson says here. First, he makes it seem as if digitization just occurs by itself. Not all archives hold collections with the prestige of Einsteins papers—and even when they do, most of their holdings consist of far less famous fare (a key reason to visit the archives personally). Most archives arent funded well enough to provide the immense manpower needed for scanning thousands or millions of documents and presenting them in well-designed websites. And digitized manuscripts still have to be processed. You dont just scan and post a letter without any metadata. That takes hard, human work and expertise. Second, its frankly wrong that the Internet or digitization diminishes the role of gatekeepers and intermediaries. In fact, digitization has made expertise *more* important. With the flood of information available, its harder to sort it all out. Not all digitized documents are the same. Some, for example, might represent a writer who is misinformed or simply lying, yet the inexpert might accept them at face value. Though I know Isaacson doesnt mean it this way, the loaded term gatekeepers is a thinly veiled slam on people who actually know what theyre talking about. Havent we learned anything from all the spurious or out-of-context quotes that have proliferated since the arrival of the Internet? Make no mistake: Its a wonderful thing that more and more original sources can be reached directly through the Internet—though they are still only a tiny fraction of whats out there. Understanding the whole picture matters. And we have to remember that the Internets efficiency in transmitting truth is also efficiency in transmitting lies.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:53:52 +0000
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