The Argument for Reading:

Recently techie folks have been arguing the relative merits of eBooks, focusing most especially on young readers and whether or not eBooks will increase the amount of time children spend reading. The evidence isn't in yet, but many observers not directly involved with the marketing of eBooks argue that kids will be no more interested in reading a book on a screen than they have been in reading words on paper. Ultimately, it is argued, content and not delivery is most important.

This debate is based on an interesting assumption, which is that reading as an activity is good in and of itself, which in turn is based on the assumption that the vicarious experience of reading allows for the acquisition of a greater amount of experience than one might otherwise have the opportunity for if one does not read.

But what happens if the reader can't remember what he or she has read?

James Collins addresses this question, one which every student has asked, in a New York Times' essay, published September 17 of this year. Central to the issue is "Am I somehow changed as a result of experience I have had in the past even if I cannot recall that experience?"