Paper Computing
Article • 895 Words • Paper, Technology, 2023 • 01/23/2023
Thoughts about the concept of "paper computing" and how to add digital interplay to physical notebook experiences that maintain privacy and maximize utility.
There are 925 words in this article, and it will probably take you less than 5 minutes to read it.
This article was published 2023-01-23 00:00:00 -0500, which makes this post and me old when I published it.
Background
Once upon a time, I stumbled across Google’s Digital Wellbeing Experiments. One experiment that immediately stood out to me and that was the Paper Phone by Special Projects. I was incredibly drawn to both the motivating idea and the execution; I thought that it had a really great minimal aesthetic, but was also extremely functional and on theme for Digital Wellbeing. To me it kind of reminded me of the early version of MapQuest, where you would use your computer to request directions and then print them off to use while you’re driving. I really liked this entire concept of having a base digital experience, but allowing a physical copy for all of its benefits.
Then a little later on Kickstarter, I found Paper Apps™ by Gladden Design, but more specifically Paper Apps™ DUNGEON. Each notebook contained a series of procedurally generated dungeons, meaning that each book would be unique. To me, Paper Apps™ reminded me of those old puzzle books that I used to play with when I was a kid that you could find at jut about any bookstore that were filled with Sudoku, Crosswords, and Word Searches.
I think the main reason the Kickstarter project was so successful was specifically because of a demand for screen-free experiences. This got me thinking about how we could potentially explore this idea through a concept of “paper computing”. Computing is the study of computers, which are devices that store, retrieve, and process information. In this way, paper computing refers to storing and processing information with paper. However, in our case we are thinking about how we can use paper along with computers to do computing tasks. A lot of things that used to be done on paper have been turned into apps, but I think that there are certain times when it should be done on paper instead of on an electronic device, or have some interplay between the two media.
Paper Information Storage/Organization
To understand paper computing, I think we should first look to understand how people can use paper to store information. People who Bullet Journal make calendars, lists, and trackers (which are just lists). Tracking TODOs, goals, habits, moods, food, sleep, exercise, budgets, reading, listening, watching, etc.
Beyond DIY-ing a journal, there are also many designs of printable sheets for storing information, which makes the process much more convenient and standardized to adopt. There have been “printables” in the bullet journaling space and beyond for quite a long time. To further enhance these use cases, you could use sheet protectors as a dry erase board like teachers do in order to have some reusability. I could see this for keeping track of which ingredients in a recipe you’ve put in, word searches, or other things where you might want to reuse it.
For most people, I would say that this satisfies all their needs and that they should just stick to using journaling instead of an app for the previously listed use cases. However for some very busy people or users with advanced use cases, they may benefit from using an app versus a journal. I think that before deciding you should ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you feel comfortable with your data stored in this application?
- How much do you need access to this information? Or to add new information? (phone fits in pocket, but what about journal? do you have a bag?)
- How much does automated calculations/analysis add to your experience, if at all? (after all this is what computers are good for)
Physical-Digital Interplay
Combining the digital and physical isn’t new, but a lot of them don’t catch on or have more niche applications. Price is absolutely a roadblock for a lot of these solutions because there are ways to do it for cheaper.
- LiveScribe: “The Livescribe smartpen captures everything that you write and everything that is spoken.”
- SMART Boards: “A SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that allows users to interact with digital content. Unlike typical whiteboards, SMART Boards are touch-sensitive devices that allow users to write on them with the touch of a finger or a special stylus. Users can also move text or graphic elements around on the board.”
- Rocketbook: “Rocketbook is a reusable notebook that will connect with your favorite cloud services to level up your organizational skills.”
- Scribit: “Scribit is an intelligent writing robot that can draw on smooth and vertical surfaces.”
- Research team turns real paper into changeable display medium
I think a lot of these solutions, with the exception of RocketBook, focus on augmenting the input process, which to me seems like a doomed enterprise. Part of the reason why physical media are so enduring are because of the low latency and the fact that it just works. RocketBook has the right idea in my mind because you don’t have to use the technological features to use the product or get utility out of it. In this way, I think that the best way forward is to find ways that to add digital interplay to physical experiences without detracting from the physical experience itself. However with an important caveat, that it should be additive. Some research like Regular Whiteboards are Better than Virtual Whiteboards show that certain parts of the experience can degrade.