Sometimes I'll post passages from classical philosophy and
rhetoric that I think are pertinent to our topic, or that I simply like. I have
spent a lot of time with the classics since I discovered
the Librivox App. I run about 25 miles a week and listen to everything from Plato to George Santayana while running. I've racked up a lot of miles and a lot of hours. That experience has given me what I think is a unique perspective on a lot of those writers:
1) I have listened to them rather than read them. I often listen to something that is of such interest I find a text copy and read it. I've discovered that there are differences in my comprehension, understanding, and often interpretation, between the audio and visual, a difference that is undoubtedly amplified by the fact that I'm running while listening, which places me in a different state of mind.
2) Since these works are in the public domain, there's a constraint on what I can listen to. The most recent works aren't available. I'm stuck in, or depending on your perspective, can focus on the classics
3) Notice that despite these constraints, this would not be available to me except in a digital world. I need the recordings that are being made (at the rate of 85 per month according to ther website). I need the website where all these works are stored digitally. I need a cellphone and earbuds. I need the App itself. None of this would have been available even ten years ago. Librivox was founded in 2005. I'm not sure when App support was first introduced.
1) I have listened to them rather than read them. I often listen to something that is of such interest I find a text copy and read it. I've discovered that there are differences in my comprehension, understanding, and often interpretation, between the audio and visual, a difference that is undoubtedly amplified by the fact that I'm running while listening, which places me in a different state of mind.
2) Since these works are in the public domain, there's a constraint on what I can listen to. The most recent works aren't available. I'm stuck in, or depending on your perspective, can focus on the classics
3) Notice that despite these constraints, this would not be available to me except in a digital world. I need the recordings that are being made (at the rate of 85 per month according to ther website). I need the website where all these works are stored digitally. I need a cellphone and earbuds. I need the App itself. None of this would have been available even ten years ago. Librivox was founded in 2005. I'm not sure when App support was first introduced.
No comments:
Post a Comment