Leonardo’s Laptop Chapters 1-5 (5) A mere 72 pages of Leonardo’s writing fetched over $30 million in 1994. It isestimated that he created over 13,000 pages of works over his lifetime (thoughfewer than 5,000 pages survive).a. As more and more work is committed to electronic media, do you thinkelectronic documents will exist in the future that will be so highly valued? I think it would be hard to value electronic media as highly as paper and pen (or parchment and ink). I think that the written hand has more value because it is harder to forge. Anyone can type or draw something on the computer and say it was developed by someone else. However, I feel that it is harder to do that to written work. b. The fragile nature and uniqueness of paper could make the existence ofaround 35% of da Vinci’s work impressive. If he had the ability to storehis works on computers, discuss whether you think the percentage of hiswritings available today would be higher or lower and explain yourreasoning. That would depend on the technology. Unfortunately with the advances of the technology, the files of da Vinci would have to be converted to the “upgraded” version of the technology. I think that the more of the works would be available because there is less of a chance of being lost. Da Vinci could have backed up his files and possibly more of the world could enjoy his work. This of course would make it less valuable, but da Vinci probably wouldn’t have really cared. On the other hand, if his technological sketches and medical “breakthroughs” were sketched secretly, someone else may not have been able to see the documents. Da Vinci might have encrypted the files so that no one else could have seen his work. (2) The sales of digital cameras have increased enormously, yet people do still buy “traditional” cameras and have darkrooms in their basements. How would you envision the environment of the photographic hobbyist 15 years from now? I think there will always be people who want to develop their own pictures. I feel that although there are some advantages to taking a picture digitally and then downloading it on to a computer, there are some people who like the idea, the art and talent behind developing their own pictures. Developing pictures means that the individual is interested in the process and no the product only. The developing process means that the individual has more say in how the picture comes out. 15 years from now I think that the digital camera will be more accessible to the public—because it will be cheaper. I think that there will be a new technology that upper and upper-middle class will be able to obtain and the other classes will be able to afford the digital camera. With all this new technology I think there will still be people who like to develop pictures the “old fashioned way.”
Posted by Michelle Millet
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