Credit, not just for cards. Or something.

'The Book of Nature and the Nature of the Book,' written by Adrian Johns, concerns the topic of fixity and credit. In his work, fixity refers to the concept that a written text holds value due to its intrinsic nature of being written. Basically, that something written is far more worthwhile than something told. Credit, however, describes the idea that there are different levels of value associated with text, and while better than the spoken word, not automatically the best.

While Johns considers these ideas within the realm of the Early Modern period, I feel that today such concepts have direct impact to my functioning as a university student. Research papers are a classic method for proving the worth of a student. Since this is a blog, I feel no shame in describing how I have written my fair share and find them to be only partially useful. My abilities and intelligence can not be accurately represented through a single paper. 'Why not write more?' I am certain the professors would argue, yet each paper has a strict set of research rules. For example, Wikipedia is out, internet resources are almost always limited, and a minimum number of sources must be met. But why?

Basically, credit. Wikipedia is an excellent example of how credit plays an important role in today's written word. Wikipedia is an amazing resource, but is given to error since anyone with an internet connection can edit and change its contents. Surprisingly, unlike a majority of websites that are rendered useless through the purposeful placement of misinformation, Wikipedia is incredibly accurate and tests have shown that incorrect information deliberately placed is edited out rapidly. Despite this, Wikipedia is off-limits to research. It does, however, provide a great place to do preliminary fact-finding.

Credit seems to now be an issue no longer of accuracy, but economic benefit. Creators of artistic work, from video games to music, want to be compensated for their work, and credit must be maintained so as to create a value that consumers desire. Pirated music and videos today are often of high quality, with few errors. While yes there are mislabeled pieces and harmful files such as viruses and malware, accurate replication, due to available technology, is a moot point. As such, fixity, as addressed by Johns, is no longer as important today as credit.