Hi friends,

Happy November. When I was in college, I worked part-time in a mall. The day after Halloween always marked the first day of the holiday season. My wife, on the other hand, isn't abandoning the fall vibes until Thanksgiving is over. Which camp do you fall under?

Today, we discuss October's book, The Revenge of Analog.

For November, we'll read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Since this is a short book, I'll also be reading his other short book, Do the Work.

— Maneet

Weekly Discussion

Imagine spending millions upon millions of dollars, thinking you are doing something that will make a huge difference, only to find out it was a waste of money.

That's exactly what has been happening in school systems around the world.

The Revenge of Analog has been an interesting book filled with different examples of how analog experiences are making a comeback in a world filled with digital technology. It discusses how vinyl records have sold more in the past 10 years than they have in the past 20 years combined. It also discusses how paper notebooks are making their way into the hands of every executive in Silicon Valley. But one of the sections that stood out to me the most was the one about use of technology in the world of education (typically referred to as Ed Tech, similar to my world of Book Tech).

Apparently, all this fancy technology is not making any sort of difference when it comes to learning.

In some cases, it's doing the opposite.

The book shares several examples ranging from the use of "Smart boards" causing more headaches than regular whiteboards and also schools investing millions into iPads only to find out they are limiting the imagination of kids who would be better off with a piece of paper or physical games. Even though it seems at first that technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we learn, in reality, using our senses and tactile inputs is what makes a big difference.

It's the difference between using a freshly sharpened pencil versus your index finger against a piece of glass. The two will never compare.

All of this got me thinking about my own analog habits.

Lately, I've been finding myself using a Kindle Scribe more and more whenever I need to take notes during meetings. I find that it is a good hybrid between the digital and analog worlds since it feels like a real notebook (mostly) but has some of the key advantages of technology like being able to cut/paste or export your notes digitally. But even as I write this, I'm thinking to myself that I'd probably be just fine with a regular notebook. I rarely use the digital features of my Scribe, and often find it more cumbersome than helpful.

Another example that hits close to home is reading on an e-reader.

The book has an entire section dedicated to the author explaining how they stopped using their Kindle in favor of analog books. To a certain extent, I resonated with this. Even though books are inherently just pieces of paper bound together, we all have come to love the sensory experiences involved: holding them, flipping through them, maybe writing in them, or even smelling them! But for me, the biggest drawback of physical books is the amount of space they take up in the physical world.

If I owned a hard copy of every digital book I've read, I'd need a lot of bookshelves and room.

It would be cool to own that, but I'd most likely never revisit the majority of those books once I've read them once.

The lesson I'm taking away from this book is not to assume that digital technology can always do things better than the analog equivalent that came before it. More often than not, the analog way of doing things is more beneficial than the digital version. I'm also walking away from this book with a desire to find more analog hobbies to complement my digital lifestyle. Things that I intentionally do with my hands and senses to help me stay present.

Because ultimately, technology is meant to help us live life.

Not take us away from it.

Do you have any habits or hobbies that you intentionally keep analog? I would love to hear from you. Reply and let me know.

Three ways I can help you...

🎬 Check out my latest YouTube video. My channel is all about Book Tech and using technology to live an intentional life.

📖 Need something new to read? Check out all the books I've written and support my work along the way.

📚 Check out the Presently Reading book log. It is a complete list of every book we've read in the book club since I started it.