Showing posts with label Unit Four. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unit Four. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Unit Four: Printed Knowledge and the History of Dictionaries.

In thinking of what topic to use for my bibliography I thought of the different printed knowledge resources that I use. I found that not a day goes by in which I don't use a dictionary. Either to check my spelling or to make sure I'm using my words right.
While doing research I stumbled upon this quote which I thought was a pretty accurate intro into my topic.

"No reference book, perhaps no book of any kind except the Bible, is so widely used as "the dictionary."'

Pretty cool stuff.
So the research part was surprisingly fun. I was a little nervous to use printed resources as it was something I had never done before. It was interesting to see the little things you miss when actually going and doing the research physically. Actually turning the pages or cross referencing certain books and having to search shelves and follow library jargon. The library doesn't seem as daunting anymore and yet it's amazing to consider all the knowledge it holds on its shelves.
A fun thing to be able to do was read the book, search it's footnotes, and then find that referenced book. It made it easier to see how interrelated certain aspects of knowledge are and to be able to actually use the same books that authors used in their research. It also helped to create a sort of timeline as different authors from different times built upon eachother.
Another things to observe that I remembered from class discussions was the affect that highlighting or written notes had on the book. I found that I was drawn to the important parts, which was a help, while at the same time, I felt as if I might be overlooking things as my eyes would automatically be drawn to already highlighted portions. It definitely has its pros and cons.
 Anyway, here goes my bibliography on the history of dictionaries.