Ultimately, Distracted

Can’t write with it. Can’t write without it.

Naturally, I’m talking about the Internet. (I could’ve been talking about computers in general, but I’d rather be specific.) It’s sad, really, that I think I can’t write without the internet, because obviously, I could. I’m just not sure that I can.

For millennia, authors have been penning the great works of literature, and even the great works of science, mathematics, medicine, art, and every other branch of knowledge, without access to the Internet. I’ve written plenty of things without benefit of Google, or any other search engine. I think back to scanning volumes of The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature that was the mainstay of every paper I wrote in high school and my early years of college. My arms ache in remembrance of hauling stacks of ponderous books to wooden library tables. I made enough 3×5 cards to fill the drawers of my school’s card catalogue many times over.

When it comes to sheer creativity, I don’t need the Internet. But when it comes to verifying information, it’s a must. I am all about verification, and citing my sources.