A few commandments in the defence of paper

Technology aided by its country-cousin science, is optimising-disrupting our lives. In this digital age, paper is much more than just paper. Therefore, this defence of paper.

19 Apr 2018 | By Ramu Ramanathan

Paper mills CEOs may not be superstars. But unlike Mark Zuckerberg, paper mills don't need to roll out safety standards for us to locate, control, download, and delete our personal data.

Which reminds me, Cambridge Analytica’s data theft and hacking would not work with paper.

By the way, we don't hear of creamwove and maplitho being phased out.

Also, we don't hear of copier paper and specialty paper running out of battery juice.

We don't hear of parents having to encrypt their children's textbooks.

We don't hear about a reader having to re-boot his daily newspaper.

We don't hear of devotees reading their Bible on an iPad in church or reading Tulsidas or Surdas on their androids.

Even in Digital India, when the Bollywood superstar enters Jodhpur jail, the first question he is asked: Show us your papers!

Even in Digital India, when the Bollywood superstar applies for bail, the first order in court: Have you filed your papers?

Even in Digital India, when the Bollywood superstar will be granted bail (this is India, after all), the verdict by the court will be: Your papers are in order!

Speaking of paper, we know about Nirav Modi, because of the paper trail.

Agreed, smart algorithms have taken Google a long way. My question is, how come smart algorithms have never nabbed a criminal?

Instagram's new feature will stop the app from refreshing automatically and promises feeds will feel "more fresh". In the good old days, we called it ... P.T.O.!

Speaking of apps, just four apps are required to download paper. They are called: Whiteness. Brightness. Smoothness. GSM. It is just that our friendly neighbourhood Marwari or Kutchi trader never branded it as an app.

Have you wondered why there is only one Steve Jobs? Is it because there is no other tech leader to fit the bill? Think again!

So they say 5G is coming. As it works, we’ll get speeds of 1 TBPS (Terabyte Per Second). We’ll have 500 billion connected devices.

Over connection leads to over-saturation. Having so many choices doesn’t really help as everything has become a blur.

They say, the next generation won’t know how to use cash currency. Already a two-year-old child can use a touch-a-screen, but can’t hold a crayon.

So what, many would say.

Already, I suspect two of the maladies on our planet will be: 1) smartphone blindness. 2) computer vision syndrome. Already, something is happening to our eyes. If you are reading this, and your eyes are not complaining, then your eyes are sending you a message.

People are talking about a decentralised internet as a kind of digital Garden of Eden that can restore the freedom and goodwill of the internet's early days. I call it walking into a bookstore and buying a book!

What is the success mantra for implementing Food Packaging Safety in India? The right type of paper or paperboard!

Other than a transport system, what ensures your packaging supply chain is full-proof? The humble carton box.

I don't smoke. But friends who do, tell me, to roll a cigarette, you need paper.

Today's Van Goghs and Salvodar Dalis need paper to bare their soul. Sans paper there is no soul to bare. So said ace photographer Tacita Dean when she was in Mumbai.

So, you don't stand in front of the Himalayas with a millennial only to be told, if we Photoshop or digitally manipulate these mountains, the results will look even more stunning on FB!

Researchers are integrating a simplified QR code on the backs of bumblebees, in order to track them. Are we the human race (also known as unorganised data by our governments and big corporates ), next?

Given the volume of transactions pharma firms do on a daily basis, they should be able to tell you, objectively, which drug is better for you. With billion active users ordering drugs, pharma firms can segment, quantify, and compare who is ordering what across neighbourhoods and cities. The pharma firm can algorithmically recommend prescriptions, help patients optimise their antibiotic choices, attract new customers with slick service, and ensure customers are addicted to their drugs. What does this mean? A world sans doctors, in which popular becomes better ...

Please remember. Life is not YouTube and AI. Our planet is analog. Humans are analog. It is time for paper to re-win our hearts and minds.