e-Greek & information discounts

Paul O. Wendland wendlanp at wls.wels.net
Thu Apr 11 20:06:27 EDT 2002


Clay--

One thing I have noted, two things will I say:

1)  The more information, the less meditation
2)  The ability to access e-information seems to many to be much of a
muchness with knowing it and using it.

Example: I used to spend many weekends lashed to a desk correcting Freshmen
compositions.  This was at the dawn of the new machine age, when everybody
was beginning to use word-processors regularly.  Never ceased to amaze how
the spell check was never used.  The ability to use f7 was the same as
actually doing it.  That is to say: because a machine could do it for you
easily, it became an unimportant thing to do.  Same with e-information.
Because I can cut and paste so easily, the need to process what I've
written, carefully to edit the extraneous and superfluous, becomes a waste
of time.

I've said too much already.  But this age will produce few Hemingways, I
think.

Paul

===============================
Paul O. Wendland
11812 N. Seminary Drive #65W
Mequon WI  53092
(262) 242-8174 --Work
(262) 242-8117 --Home
wendlanp at wls.wels.net <mailto:wendlanp at wls.wels.net>  --Email

> -----Original Message-----
> From: c stirling bartholomew [mailto:cc.constantine at worldnet.att.net]
> Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2002 1:10 PM
> To: Biblical Greek
> Subject: [b-greek] e-Greek & information discounts
>
>
> I think this topic has obvious implications for the b-greek forum
> or I would
> not have posted it here.
>
> I took a trip this week across town to the SPU library and
> dragged (hauled)
> home the recently published 1,500 page  1Cor  by A.C. Theiselton (NIGTC,
> Eerdmans 2000).
>
> The NIGTC on 1Cor is the first commentary I have used where I am very
> clearly aware of the presence of e-texts in the research. The most glaring
> evidence of this is the constant citations from multiple English
> translations. I wonder why I am supposed to be interested in this "data"
> since it can be assumed that anyone using a NIGTC will have either
> BibleWorks, Logos, BibleWindows or Accordance. In other words,
> the value of
> e-text data which is generally available has been discounted in
> advance. So
> what is it doing in a scholarly (!!) reference work on 1Cor?
>
> The purpose here is not to trash the NIGTC volume on 1Cor. I am raising a
> question about what e-texts are doing to the perceived value of
> information.
> We now have most of the standard reference works in electronic form,
> including F.Danker, TDNT, WBC, ABD, L&N, LEH . . . the list is long and
> getting longer every day.
>
> The inevitable side affect of all this information only a mouse click away
> is that the information itself becomes commonplace. The perceived value of
> it becomes seriously discounted. When I see some information cited from an
> electronic source, I am tempted to say "so what?" Particularly when the
> citation is not accompanied by any additional analysis.
>
> I think we need to stop an ask ourselves, what do we have personally to
> contribute to this discussion? Otherwise we could end up just throwing
> e-text at each other.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I am not anti e-text. I have been using e-text
> extensively for Greek & Hebrew studies since 1990, and have been an
> Accordance junkie since fall of '94.
>
> However, I have become aware that it is not is a significant
> contribution to
> just throw some text at someone. And the e-text age has made this a
> temptation that is difficult to resist.
>
> greetings,
>
> Clay
>
> --
> Clayton Stirling Bartholomew
> Three Tree Point
> P.O. Box 255 Seahurst WA 98062
>
>
>
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