Machines: Winning the War on Paper

Course offerings came out last week, and something felt different.

Fall break at home has roughly the same effect on my brain as high-caliber Novocaine, so the course guide had my full attention as soon as the website was up. I had never gone on the website first – it was always the place I went after I had my initial list of courses, gleaned from flipping through the thin, pulpy sheets of the paper course booklet. But how different could it really be?

Really, really different. I was completely overwhelmed. I tried looking at only one department at a time, but even then I was just staring at a list of numbers and course titles. Sure, more information was only a click away. But something about the process seemed too active – I was not browsing, I was power searching.

Why I care (and you should too!) after the jump.