better is a myth

a fascinating post on kottke.org links to an article about how medieval manuscripts were produced, and notes the similarities between this process and the web today. my favorite bit:

Of particular delight to us today, much of the marginalia in illuminated books expressed the opinions and feelings of the illuminator about all manner of things-his demanding wife, the debauched monks in his neighborhood, or his own bacchanalian exploits.

—from Medieval Multitasking: Did we ever focus?

this of course reminded me of one of my favorite billy collins’ poems, marginalia. it’s a bit long so i’ll avoid posting the whole text, but this stanza always makes me chuckle:

And if you have managed to graduate from college
without ever having written “Man vs. Nature”
in a margin, perhaps now
is the time to take one step forward.

sadly, i cannot take one step forward. alas.