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In attempting to accomplish this assignment, I began by trying to decide exactly what to “create” a writing technology really meant. I determined that my writing technology would have to be something easy to put together and to carry around. I also determined, since this technology had to be created from “natural” materials, it would have to be basic materials that are easy to acquire and not very expensive. The level of permanence was also something that I considered when attempting to “create” my writing technology. At that point, I sat down and stared into space for a really long time and wondered what in the world a person who lives in an apartment in the middle of town with no lawn, trees, nor driveway could use to create something natural to write with. I quickly determined that this assignment was not going to be quick and easy. The idea of having to forego the use of things like the pencil, paper, and computer quickly became cumbersome. I was immediately able to see for myself just how much we take for granted how advanced our society is in the technology of writing and how we completely take such simple technologies as the #2 pencil as a matter of daily course. I have determined through this activity that there truly is nothing “natural” about writing.
In working through this assignment, it was made evident in many ways just why individuals such as Plato were initially leery of the use of writing in every day life. When forced to really think about the process of writing it is easy to see how it could have been viewed as untrustworthy. As Walter J. Ong, Jr. states in “Writing is a Technology That Restructures Thought,” “Writing is simply a thing, something to be manipulated, something inhuman, artificial, a manufactured product” (Ong 20). As I created my writing technology I was able to understand exactly what this statement meant. I could literally write anything that I wanted to. I was creating the technology and using it to write words; words that came from my mind only. Once I wrote my thoughts down and walked away, it was up to the next person who read those words to determine their validity. Writing really is a completely odd thing when really considering the process of actually inventing the technology itself.
Eventually, after I had the inspirational moment that I just described and stared into space for a bit longer, I did decide what I would use to create my writing tool. Now, as I stated, I live in an apartment with basically no outdoor opportunities for collecting “natural” objects to write with. Although I could have raided the dumpster behind the Chinese restaurant that I live next door to, I decided that rotting trash was a bit too “natural” for me. Continuing on that wave length, I soon decided that any of the actual food items from my refrigerator and cupboard that I had initially considered using to write with were also out of the question. I had initially pondered the use of vegetables from my freezer to form letters and, thereby, words. I was all ready to dig into my frozen green beans and corn but I quickly changed my mind for a couple of reasons. First, I decided that wasting food, even if it was vegetables, for this project irritated me. I am a student, after all, and I work full time. To heck with using my hard earned vegetables. Then there was the consideration that, had I actually intended to leave someone a message with beans and corn, not only would it not be a very practical form of communication, but it would eventually, literally stink. Since permanence is an important consideration in this assignment, anything that will actually rot and/or get stinky is clearly not the answer. There is also the consideration that whatever I created as my writing technology would have to be something that people could get a hold of easily and that could be easily transported. Carrying around a large bag of various vegetables for the purpose of communication, along with being wasteful and expensive, is a ridiculous notion.
What I eventually decided would be my best bet for use in creating my writing technology out of what was available in my apartment consisted of two simple things: flour and water. Before I explain my reasoning for this choice, allow me to communicate how this flour and water writing technology works. The whole idea is to create a paste by taking a bit of flour and mixing it with a bit of water. The paste should not be too watery or too thick. The consistency that works best is one that can be spread easily over a surface by simply using your hand. Once the paste is mixed and spread over the desired space, writing is easy with just the use of an index finger to form the words. Although the technology that I decided on is not necessarily the most visually creative and pleasing, it is very practical. Flour and water are two basic things that most everyone has access to. Actually, it is really not necessary that flour be the only substance used. Anything of a “flour” type consistency that can be easily mixed with a liquid, which does not even necessarily have to be water, would work as well.
If considering the question of whether or not this writing technology would be portable, the answer is, ah, well, basically, yes. Although I admit that mixing flour and water together to create a paste, spreading that paste on a desired space, and writing in it with your finger may not be the best solution to our given problem, one could easily carry flour around in a small baggie or pouch of some sort. If transporting water is not the most convenient thing to do, access to water or a similar fluid is fairly easy regardless of where a person may be. Now, one could ask, what if there is absolutely no way to get water and you really need to leave a message? The answer is, I don’t know, spit or pray for rain or something. I did not say my solution is perfect, just a decent idea and, in my opinion, the best one to be reached without cheating and actually using only what is in my environment, that being my third floor apartment in the middle of town. As for the question of how permanent something such as a flour and water mixture is, well, obviously, it is not completely permanent. However, flour and water mixed together creates a rather sticky paste. If allowed to dry, that paste does not simply wipe off and will definitely stay put until literally washed away.
This assignment allowed me to experience for myself the task of creating communication. It is true that writing is a technology that is not really possible without mad made tools. Although I used so called natural products with which to create my writing technology, the materials were not truly natural. Flour is a natural substance, but it is something that man creates. One does not find flour in nature. Just as the invention of the pencil required the combining of natural materials by man to create one universal tool, so does all written communication.
The more permanent that written communication has become, the more man is involved in the manufacturing of that form of written communication. It is interesting to consider that something that started out as a way to keep records has literally replaced the passing of ideas and history through oral culture by allowing for permanent records of events which can be read and interpreted at any time by anyone.
Writing itself is not natural. As Ong said, “…[B]y contrast with natural, oral speech, writing is completely artificial. There is no way to write naturally” (Ong 22). One thing is clear after examining the development of the technology of writing. The permanence and development of written communication has allowed for the continuing technological advancement of man as a whole.
Ong, Walter J., Sr., “Writing Is a Technology that Restructures Thought” Ellen Cushman, Eugene K. Kintgen, Barry M. Krull, and Mike Rose, Eds. Literacy: A Critical Sourcebook. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001:19-30.