Writing Space Chapter 2

In the chapter "Writing is Technology" Bolter takes the reader through the different materials used to write with from scrolls to computers. All these technologies of writing are different in the style they are written (by hand or printed), and they style of how they look. However, the writing space is almost the same on all of them. "The technology of ancient writing is not only the papyrus, the ink, and the techniques of making book rolls; it is also the styles and genres of ancient writing and the social and political practices of ancient rhetoric. The technology of modern writing includes not only the techniques of printing, but also the practices of modern science and bureaucracy and the economic and social consequences of print literacy" (19). Both styles of writing are technologies, but are looked at differently. When I see an ancient scroll I see a lot of thought and effort put into writing every word. When writing on a scroll, in a sense, you only get one chance to get it right or you have to start all over again, where when writing on the computer you can re-type and edit the text. I enjoy how Bolter relates the ancient technology of writing to the new technology of writing.