Hey #bookhistory people: you know that thing that instructors do where they have students read / write by candlelight to simulate the experience of using / making books before gas/electric lights? 1/x
If you do this, please also remind your students that huge portions of the world's population TODAY still read by candle-/phone-/flashlight _out of necessity_ because of constant brownouts or total lack of electricity. 2/x
Let them meditate upon the reality of so many people in Puerto Rico, who--at this moment--are making do without reliable electricity. The exercise can be a valuable one, I know, but it's not a quaint relic of the past, but very much the condition that millions face today. fin
