(2013-08-08) Bjarnason Ebook Cognitive Mapping

Baldur Bjarnason, inspired by some Kathy Sierra tweets, contemplates EBook Mental Model needs, as we leave the physical cues of a Printed Book... I read a book and a part of how I remember what I remember is spatial mapping. I remember roughly how far into the book the passage was and where on the page. Hmm, is that just because that's all you've got with a Printed Book?

Kathy’s perspective on this is trying to figure out how to make AweSome books and in that context she is absolutely right. New books intended to provoke skills development in the reader should be written to remove the need for techniques such as cognitive mapping. They should absolutely carry the context forward through writing and design... However... We can’t rewrite old books. You can’t rewrite John Gray and add sections at the start of every chapter that carries context forward. As a commenter points out, Critical editions serve a similar purpose for older texts, so I could imagine something similar for electronic content. I agree with that comment. There could be new editions (though the licensing could be tricky to pull off). Hmm, or could shared Annotation-s do the job? If you're not looking for money, then Wiki Summaries might be the ideal place for this. You could "subscribe" to one "editor's" Annotations on the book. Plus, of course, the EBook reader should make it easy to add your own structural clues. (Active Reading)