Umberto Eco: Internet As “Formidable Complement” to Books

In this posthumous collection of essays, entitled Chronicles of a Liquid Society Umberto Eco offers his timeless perspective on matters ranging from religion to art to war to the media. (He also returns to education throughout.) I’ve only begun reading it, but expect the work to find its place on my shelf of great essay collections. Here’s Eco’s insightful take on the relationship between books and the Internet:

The Internet is not going to replace books; it is simply a formidable complement, an incentive to read more books. The book is still the main tool for providing and transmitting knowledge (what would pupils study on a day when there’s a blackout?), and textbooks are the first priceless opportunity to teach children how to use a book.