Recently, when I took a ride with a young colleague, I noticed that he had a flash drive connected to his car radio. I asked him if it had any music in it, and he replied that it was a book. Surprised, I asked to listen and learned that it was some speaker reading the text of a book.
When he saw my surprise he explained to me, with the disdain that young people have for the truisms of the Internet, that it was common to “read” audiobooks.
I thought to myself: the technique for sound recording has been around for quite a while. Recorders have been used for over 50 years, and I had never heard of a recording of a book.
Reflecting on the subject, I could understand that this current generation does not have the habit of wasting their precious time with nonsense such as math, writing, and now reading.
Soon (I think it already is happening), the rules of math and the rules of writing will be abandoned and replaced by the computer, which will do all this correctly without any need for extra knowledge.
Is this new habit a mistake?
Frankly, I do not think so.
What my young colleague will retain from the book is its idea, its message, not the strenuous reading. He would not be able to appreciate the eventual flourishes of writing.
After reading, the book would be stored in somewhere, never to be touched again. That flash drive can store a wide number of books, with pictures, films, and music on the subject of reading. All this material can be stored on any virtual storage system, accessible anytime, anywhere.
The message brought by books does not require a physical space, expensive printing, nor distant storage; it needs to be easily accessible and low cost.
We are in a new era.
RBO will join this new era.
Mail delivery, publication delays, shelf storage, and text marking will be replaced by immediate access editions, unlimited electronic storage, and the ability to copy/paste interesting points.
Any RBO publication or bibliographic citations will be accessible at the touch of a computer key. Search engines will allow quick retrieval of any information. The publication will be much richer, allowing the use of high-definition figures and even videos to demonstrate surgical techniques or diagnostic maneuvers.
All RBO editions will be available for electronic consultation.
Fortunately, I was able to write the first editorial of this new era; I am honored to have had this opportunity.
The next editor-in-chief, elected by his peers from the Editorial Board, will be Sergio Checchia, who is the most published author of RBO and has vast experience as a shoulder surgeon.
A profound connoisseur of national publishing, which he has always helped, the adaptation to the electronic age will be his greatest challenge; I hope that, when his cycle is completed, he can present us another important innovation for RBO... perhaps even the spoken word.
I wish you the best of luck, my dear friend.