From Pencils to Pixels

"From Pencils to Pixels" by Dennis Baron, was an irritating read to say the least.  I thought he was pompous and ignorant for criticizing something so influential in this society today.  The computer has been the most influential piece of technology that has been created in the 21st century and I feel like Baron takes such a negative stand point on it affecting the way he writes. While I can't be certain that pencil and paper forms of writing will never go away as we push towards a more technological future, I can assure you that any route taken is for the good of being able to keep up with where the future is headed.  I could definitely see handwriting fizzling out in the upcoming hundreds of years just due to the ease and integration of smaller more handy devices such as the iPad.  I think handwriting is extremely necessary and useful however, but it's definitely outdated in even this day and time if you really think about it.  The only time I ever write anymore on paper is if I am making a to-do list or jotting down notes from class.  All my drafts and ideas start usually in a Word document.  "...the writing practices I had been engaged in regularly since the age of four, now seemed to overwhelm and constrict me, and I longed for the flexibility of digitized text" Baron quotes.  It is sad to think that that did happen to him, but I don't think if I sat down to write on paper I would be that held back from my thinking processes and I know a lot of others who would feel the same.  The computer didn't just invent itself, humans did, and since it is so mainstream today, I don't see all the harm in it being more convenient.  That's the purpose of life, is always expanding and stretching the horizons of what we already know to better the generations of tomorrow.  Not to be nostalgic about the past.  The past should be honored, but we naturally move forward.