The Sound of Typing- From Typewriters to Touch Keyboards
Just as I am typing my first blog post on my laptop, I hear the sound of typing, A gentle sound, which seems to congratulate me on every alphabet I type on this machine. This sound is a melange of clicks and heart beats. A sound, which urges you to keep typing. A sound, which forces you to express your thought processes. Imagine typing on a keyboard, without this sound. It would lack the true essence of life. The sound acts as a combined entity between all your sense organs- Sight, smell, touch, and sound, itself. The sound of typing.
Today's world has become attached to touch keyboards, with automatic spell checks and tech savvy expert systems. In my belief, those keyboards are like an array of alphabets, without a soul. The tick and 'blick' beeps are merely artificial imitations of the original sound of a keyboard. And the word suggestions on these keyboards, are like grenades waiting to bomb your choice of words, and force you to use their over-used cliche words. They are like thieves, ready to attack your sense of imagination and force you to use words like 'awesome', even though they might be completely irrelevant to the context. They are simply making the world American.
I am not discriminating the race. The original keyboard and the first typewriters were as a matter of fact, invented by them. And they have certainly made some of the world's most efficient technological instruments. But touch keyboards aren't as appealing. Believe me, I planned to write this blog on my IPAD, but I couldn't write more than the first sentence and was harked back to my old classic Lenovo, without a touch screen!! I am glad of it. And the laptop replaced the IPAD, in my first sentence and my whole blog took a whole new twist. Most of my friends tell me why am I not very active on social media or Whatsapp. Well, I might not be very good with touch screens. And secondly, simply putting all of my life on the Internet is not my forte. I would hardly have my own life left. I would be simply like an alphabet, without a soul, amidst all the touch keyboards. My life would be touched both mentally and physically, through those horrendous touch screens. I am going to continue writing this blog post and all posts using this same keyboard. If people don't like what I write, then at least the sound of my keyboard would congratulate me for my piece of writing!!
Since I don't have a typewriter, I have to rely on this keyboard. The typewriter would have indeed been a brilliant experience and moreover, this blog would have never existed and the readers would have instead gone to the local bookshop, to perhaps buy my piece of writing, all typed on a type writer and would have reprimanded my spelling errors! But those almost ancient instruments, had its own feelings. Not only did each and every typed letter have a soul, but each printed word and sentence was like a real living being, which couldn't be changed until started all over again. In my opinion, typewriters metaphorically signify the story of life. In order to change, we must start all over again. There are no shortcuts. But I think that too is changing. Since ever smartphones and such technology has come up, we, human beings are tremendously trying to take shortcuts, throughout life, right from birth to death. We try to speed up each and every task, and make more time. We are ourselves becoming like smartphones. Our face only exists on Facebook. And by the way, I am not going to start a Facebook page on Pixelated Suchir, for the same reason!!
Some of the best authors in the world still use typewriters to write stories and novels. One of the best examples is Ruskin Bond, who till today types his stories on a typewriter. He believes his brain only becomes active when he types using a typewriter or holds a pen in his hand and I totally agree with him. And in a similar, yet simpler way famous crime-fiction novelist Paul Auster often says he likes the sound of a typewriter. In my perspective, it is music in itself. And every time you finish a width of paper, you would push the carriage return lever, to turn the paper up. The sound of the lever growling its way through the complex machinery, evokes a sensuous sense of victory and urges you to continue typing. And the soft and delicate paper roll simply sweetens the recipe of writing. And the often imperfect print on typewriter paper, adds a sense of personal touch to the writing and at times, complements the story line. For instance, if it's a mysterious, spooky story, there would be an effect of danger and suspense amidst the gloom of the typed words. This is what makes the writing more natural, rather than artificial. This is what makes the story attractive.
Yesterday, my father talked about typesetters, which were used for printing dot-based programming sheets and then were further read by interpreters and compilers, in mainframe computers. These typesetters too are a form of typewriters. But today, the scene is different. Once the programming code is written, a simple press of the execution button does it all. It might be more efficient and user-friendly. But, does it really satisfy your psychological thoughts? Well, a research done by the BBC claims that easier work doesn't always make the performer happier. As a matter of fact, if a task is easier and faster, almost all the suspense wears off. And also, you are more likely to get a task right, from the first time itself, if you put your heart and soul into it and if there is more suspense to the whole task, itself.
That's all I have to say. And lastly, the sound plays a major role in all these tasks. It's like music playing to your ears, when you are performing these chores in the old classic way. Just like for a photographer, a DSLR is quintessential to get the accurate click and the natural mechanical sound of the click is important. The same effect cannot be even merely reached by a smart phone or even a tablet. Their sounds are simply a copy of the true sound of life. They lack the authenticity of a true sound.
Sounds, pictures, smells are all very important to me. In my belief, the sound of music, nature and typing are all important to life. Life is a melange of all these characteristics. Just as I type the final full stop in this blog, I would gently hear the gentle, and soft tone of my button........
