Re: Indexes - Printed vs. On-line

[Richard Lippincott <rlippinc -at- BEV -dot- ETN -dot- COM>]

Bob Morrisette asked, regarding on-line vs. paper in the index:

>Again, why should they be different, except that one is on paper
>and one on the screen?

I think Lori Lathrop had the answer, it's the ability to get a "big picture"
from the printed index. But that still begs the question Bob asked: "Why?"

For the same reason why it's easier to spot a typo on a paper page than it is
to spot the same typo on a screen - even when vieing WYSIWYG.

Unfortunately, here's where I'm going to fall short: I don't understand why
it's easier to spot a typo on paper. Perhaps it's screen size, or resolution,
but I have a strange feeling neither of these is it. There's something more
fundimental that we've overlooked -- that we've ALL overlooked -- that causes
this to happen. We've got to figure out what it is, because it's important,
whatever it is.

Two theories that I've just made up (Caution: these are both "pre-coffee"
theories early in the morning)

1) It's cultural. Even the youngest among us on this list grew up learning from
paper, and we're more accustomed to absorbing information presented that way.
If so, then as years pass we'll find on-screen will become dominant.

2) It's in the brain. A piece of paper does not move. A screen image flickers,
and while it's -fast-, the brain -can- perceive the flicker. Perhaps the brain
processes the information in a different way, because the brain perceives
motion? If so, then on-screen will have a serious handicap for a long, long
time.

Both of these theories may well be wrong. But I'd be interested in opinions on
this, as well as -why- those typos are so hard to spot on-screen.

Rick Lippincott
Eaton Semiconductor
Beverly, MA
rlippinc -at- bev -dot- etn -dot- com