Paper's Disappearing Act

In "The Shape of Text to Come," Stephen A. Bernhardt discusses the usage of text-particularly those that are screen-based. As I am typing this, Berhardts idea that text is inseparable from machine comes to mind. In such case, he asserts that the dependency of screen-based text on a larger technological and social environment stems from delimited circumstances. While books offer the convenience of portability, the presence of the text provides participant control in the screen world. This is especially the case with interactive texts, whereas it is integrated with planning scenes, reading texts, translations, and commentary, aside from the style learning. Though, Functionally Mapped text requires different actions, such as interpreting the functional roles of various texts. According to Bernhardt, when text shifts from one function to another, the rhetorical tension at the boundary tends to demand some kind of signal. Readers must be able to distinguish language cues, like how to manage files and execute commands, and how to navigate around language cues. Contrary to traditional cues of paper texts, the rapid expansion of functional cues on screen writing and reading are impoverished. However, it modular text that Bernhardts find very pertinent for it is definitely the shape of text to come, for it can be read many times. Despite many other types of text, Bernhardt ends this powerful piece by foreshadowing the impending developments of new strategies for reading and writing. Thus, perhaps blogging will soon offer a surplus of gratification, as a greater shaping influence on paper text make its mark.