Re: Book buyers (was Re: Today's jaw dropper)

["Richard W. Tarara" <rtarara@saintmarys.edu>]

Let me argue for the four color 'goo-gaw'.  While  30 year old editions of
the better introductory texts might well serve the interested physics
major, we must realize that the majority of our students (and text book
buyers) are somewhat less interested.  The books need to compete for their
attention and the competition is getting visually more and more
interesting.  

This is not a new phenomenon.  We just watched James Burke's, The Day the
Universe Changed episode on the Scientific Revolution during the
Renaissance in my liberal arts class (a reasonable 1 hour historical
overview of the period).  Within this video essay is the contention that
the Catholic Church used paintings, sculpture, and music (following the
Council of Trent) to draw the people back into the churches in response to
the Protestant movement.  In a way, this is just what the textbook people
are doing.  

Reading has fallen on hard times at least in quality if not in quantity,
and getting students to work with a text in light of  competition from TV,
computers, radio, and other printed media is no mean feat.  Having been
hooked on computer gaming for some time, I can certainly relate to the need
for more color, more graphics, more glitz to attract the buyer.  Very few
players will opt for a purely TEXT adventure game today when the same level
of challenge is available in high color, 3-D graphics.  Yes there are a few
who still enjoy the 'older' games and many classic games retain their
playability, but to attract new players even these old games get 'dressed
up' with new graphics and interfaces.  There is really no comparison
between the old Atari/Commodore Pit Stop and today's Indy Car/Nascar racing
simulations.  While the differences are not as extreme when it comes to
physics text books, I think the principle does apply.

Of course, besides the color and photos there is also the reworked pedagogy
(for better or worse), MORE problems, more 'relevant' problems, historical
and application essays, etc. that have been added to modern books.  Better
or worse is a complex question, and probably fodder for the Physics
Educational Researchers.

Rick

----------
> From: John Mallinckrodt <ajmallinckro@CSUPomona.Edu>

> It is partially for this reason that I think textbooks should abandon
much
> of the four color goo-gaw, the hard covers, and the truckloads of
> ancillaries that are used to market them.  (The other reason is that I
> think most of that stuff is distracting and, ultimately,
> counterproductive.)  I think there is something to be said for black and
> white paperback texts that are simple, well written, and fall apart after
> one or two good uses.  See, for example, Chabay and Sherwood. 
>
> John