Allowing for Creative Freedom

While watching the Engelbart’s demonstration I was struck but the idea he talked about in the reading about how “this flexible cut-and-try process really did appear to match the way you seemed to develop your thoughts.” The word processor gives users the ability to let their thoughts flow creatively and quickly. There is no need to worry that what you are writing is wrong or doesn’t make sense. You don’t have to be constricted by the permanency of your thoughts. The quickness of typing allows you to get your thoughts down almost as quickly as you think them. When all of your thoughts are down you can easily go back and delete, modify and rearrange. I thought about every paper I have ever written for school or emails I have sent and how many times I went back over it, changing and critiquing until it satisfied me. Sometimes going through and deleting whole paragraphs or sometimes just a few words. In fact, I am doing it as I write this blog post. The expansion that came with this ability to edit your own thoughts in such an accessible and convenient fashion is astronomical.  I never really think about its convenience, since it is what I am used to. But if I were to be given an essay to write and was only allowed to use pencil or paper, I would be sure to notice the drastic difference. It would seem inefficient and restricting. The process would seem unbearably slow and my fingers would itch for a keyboard. Which pointed out how much truth there is to Engelbart’s argument that once you are aware of advancement it is beyond frustrating to go back to more primitive modes of operation. You begin to feel restricted and impatient with the slower and older method.  You are stuck noticing the lack of efficiency and how much more productive you could be with your hands on the improved option. Needless to say the word processor was an evolutionary invention in terms of the growth it gave. It drastically changed our communication, learning, efficiency and thus our world in a remarkably positive direction.