The Love of Turning Pages. It’s not a fair choice to have to make, between digital and printed books. And overall as readers, we are choosing both in different ways. But how? Both print and ebook sales are on the increase2. But the ebook rate accelerates faster because its market is newer.3 Traditional books are objects we know well: we use them and manipulate them intuitively. We can feel how much we’ve read through a book, using our fingertips, and without having to search for any number or dial on a screen. Books can last ages and they are printed in a way that lasts. They do not need to be charged at night in order to function. They may even endure some floods and high temperatures. Words form a path, a stream, and you follow that path straight and true from beginning to end. There is beauty, elegance, and simplicity in the design of a book.
Was your medical training all you had hoped it to be? Did you learn as much as you expected or knew you could? Was learning effective, efficient, and fun? Technology is changing the practice of medicine. But it is also changing the way medical students learn, expectations of their potential, and the way they want to be learning.