I’ve been thinking a bit about that study, reported in the Guardian, showing that readers absorb less material when they read something on an e-reader than when they read a printed book.

Because I love printed books, my reaction was pretty much one of delight—I’m happy whenever something suggests that printed books aren’t going to become obsolete.

But of course, the issue has pretty profound educational implications. More and more textbooks are being delivered (and, theoretically, read) electronically. I’m sure that’s true of more and more course materials. Not to mention the larger phenomenon of online education. Will today’s students remember less of what they’ve learned than those who read print? Or will they just need to read things more times in order to remember them?

This is one of those things where Larry Summers’ push/rush to modernize universities starts to look not so smart, and more about his impatience with perceived avatars of the past than a real understanding of smart ways in which to advance learning. I wish Walter Isaacson had pressed him a little bit harder in his “conversation” with Summers and Drew Faust a few weeks ago at the Aspen Institute….