Writing as a Technology- Weekly Writing 4b Baron

Baron takes Ong's idea that writing is a technology and elaborates. Baron gives a history of the technological innovations that have had a significant impact literacy. He begins by defending technology, the computer in particular, against anti-technological groups. Baron's use of the Lead Pencil Club as an example of how new technologies are often met with fear, skepticism, or outright rejection is especially appropriate given the articles focus on writing technology. It is difficult for some to imagine, but at one time, the pencil was a cutting edge innovation.  Baron shows the sytematic rejection of literacy technologies and writing itself by society.  Baron argues that in the early stages of writing history, writing was percieved as untrustworthy. Writing earned a reputation as dirty trick to steal land. In a world where very few people were literate, it is easy to see how writing could be utilized for sinister purposes . Baron tells us that the acceptance of these new technologies is a key component in determining how they effects us. When we examine the histories of technoligical innovations such as the pencil, telephone, and computer, then we can accuratly determine their impact. A history on the tools writers use such as Baron gives us in this article is fascinating to me.