Digitizing

“Books and Other Fetish Objects,” by James Gleick, discusses the downside of document digitization. Despite the fact digitization makes historical text readily available to thousands of people around the world, when it comes to the subject of digitizing, “some see enrichment, others see impoverishment,” Gleick explains (2). 

Many historians argue that document digitization takes away from the excitement one feels when coming into close reach with an original historical manuscript. According to Tristram Hunt, “‘when everything is downloadable, the history of mystery can be lost’” (2). He concludes this statement by announcing he is not a fan of digitizing and then calls the act of reading physical books and text as sentimental.

Although it is difficult to develop sentimentality through a computer screen, I, for one, am an advocate for the digitization of original documents. Making digital copies of original historical documents provides the world with access to rare materials. As a result of this, people are provided with a slice of history. For instance, people are able to experience the thinking of process of Sir Isaac Newton as he conducts his experiments through his personal journals and data books. Personal journals like Newton’s are the historical rarities people are able to encounter, worldwide, due to the digitalization of written material. Of course one is not able to receive the “contact high” when reading original texts versus reading digitized text (1); nevertheless, the overall knowledge and information absorbed from the digitized documents can benefit mental capacities in which can increase the knowledge of many.

“Can Wikipedia Conquer Expertise?”

“Can Wikipedia Conquer Expertise?” by Stacy Schiff, discusses the success Wikipedia.com, the online encyclopedia has achieved. Wikipedia is an online, interactive encyclopedia in which anyone with Internet access can contribute information. Technically, Wikipedia.com is classified as a non-profit organization in which it supports itself through aids and contributions (paragraph 3). It was created in 2001 and is now the most popular website, receiving “fourteen thousand hits per second” (paragraph 2).

With all of the success Wikipedia.com has achieved, one would think it would be considered a reputable source amongst teachers and researchers, worldwide. But, because everyday people have access to the composing of the Wiki entries, many teachers eradicate Wikipedia.com as a possible research tool for their students. The reason for this could be because of the rudimentary format the entries on Wikipedia.com are written. In the article, Schiff states, “The entries can read as though they had been written by a seventh grader: clarity and concision are lacking; the facts may be sturdy, but the connective tissue is either anemic or absent; and citation is hit or miss” (paragraph 32).

I can attest to Schiff’s previous statement. The majority of Wiki entries tend to lack formal writing principles and style. However, there have been certain topics I have written about and found the information provided in a Wiki entry to more useful to my essay. In fact, even Harvard philosopher Hilary Putnam was amazed to see the details of his Wiki entry. “He was flabbergasted. . . .” Schiff informs readers in the article (paragraph 33).

Act III and IV of Pygmalion

Act IV of Pygmalion, by Bernard Shaw, begins with Eliza, Higgins, and Pickering returning home from Mrs. Higgins’ get together. At the party, which occurs in act III, Eliza goes out of her way to prove to the guests in attendance she has metamorphosed into a woman of sophistication. Though her transformation is not quite complete, Eliza does her best blending in with the aristocrats of the party. In fact, Eliza blends in well enough to dismay Mrs. Eynsford Hill, the mother of Clara and Freddy (introduced in act I). Nevertheless, upon their face-to-face meeting at Mrs. Higgins’ house, Mrs. Eynsford Hill has a difficult time remembering the previous encounter she had with Eliza during Eliza’s days as a poor flower girl working on the streets of London, England. “I feel sure we have met before, Miss Doolittle. I remember your eyes,” Mrs. Eynsford Hill expresses to Eliza (59).

I was surprised, nonetheless, when reading about the outcome of act IV of Pygmalion. It is typical for the audience to witness happy endings for the character that undergoes a positive change. Because Higgins and Pickering have already transformed Eliza into a refined young lady and taught her to communicate using proper English by act IV, I was expecting the rest of the story to continue to flourish for Eliza. Contrary to my previous beliefs, the story experiences a slight relapse when Eliza is a silent observer to Higgins and Pickering’s conversation, as they discuss how they could have peaceful rests knowing they have achieved “a great success: an immense success” with Eliza’s makeover (75). 

Act I and II of Pygmalion

In the first two acts of Pygmalion, Eliza Doolittle, a poor flower vendor, has an encounter with Colonel Pickering, a student of Indian dialects, and Henry Higgins, the author of the Universal Alphabet, while selling flowers on the street corner of London. Hearing the broken English Eliza speaks disgusts Higgins so much that he develops an urge to teach her how to speak properly. Fearing Eliza’s poor speech could possibly prevent her from being successful in her life endeavors, Higgins brags about his ability to transform Eliza into the polished, refined young adult she is capable of becoming within the time frame of three months. “You see this creature with her kerbstone English: the English that will keep her in the gutter to the end of her days. Well, sir, in three months I could pass that girl off as a duchess at an ambassador’s garden party,” Higgins boasts to Pickering in Act I (18).

Higgins’ annoyance with Eliza’s broken speech reminds me of George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” article our class read last week. Like Orwell, Higgins hates how Eliza unknowingly butchers the English language every time she talks. In fact in Act I, Higgins tells Eliza, “. . .you incarnate insult to the English language. . . .” (18). In this quote, Higgins is telling Eliza she dishonors English language.

Even though I have only read the first two acts of Pygmalion, I have to say, I am enjoying the play already! Particularly, I like how Act I opens with a family of three—a mother, daughter named Clara, and son named Freddy—looking for a taxi cab on a busy London street, whom I assumed to be the main characters of the play. However, it is not until Freddy accidentally bumps into Eliza that I realized the plot of Act I is centered around the character of Eliza, not the characters of the mother, Clara, or Freddy who were introduced first. 

The Desecration of the English Language

In the article, “Politics and the English Language,” by George Orwell, Orwell compiles several common errors people tend to display within their writing compositions. In many cases, people are unaware of the horrible mistakes they frequently incorporate within their writing. As Orwell states in his article, the reason why many English-speakers tend to butcher their native tongue is not because they are ignorant, but because the English language, itself, “is full of bad habits which spread by imitation” (paragraph 2). In other words, Orwell is implying that people like to copy what they see and read from the works of others.

I found Orwell’s article to be a plea for all English-speakers in the world. The tone of Orwell's voice throughout the article is one of desperation. In my mind, Orwell is asking English-speakers to stop being lazy within their compositions, be aware of the words they are using, and ensure these words are being used in their correct context. Moreover, Orwell suggests to “never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print” (paragraph 28, (i)). I have heard this statement from the majority of the English professors I have had throughout my matriculation. I think this pointer Orwell provides in “Politics and the English Language” is very important because the over use of metaphors, similes, figure of speech, and clichés has the ability to convert meaningful words and phrases into insignificant verbiage.

Below, I have included some of the clichés I have been reprimanded for using within my English compositions:

Practice makes perfect

I believe the children are the future

Diving into the deep end

Running around like a chicken with my head cut off