Reading what others have been Writing

I was bored.

I had nothing sensible to do.. so I decided to click the "Next Blog" link at the top
of this page (it's one of the links at the right side of the search box).
















I was hoping to get a glimpse at what the other bloggers are writing about.


Whadyaknow?!

I couldn't read their posts!

For my first 9 clicks on the "Next Blog" link, I was taken to 9 blogs which were not in English. Evidently, the "writing language of preference" for the authors of these blogs is not English.

And that got me thinking - all this time I've been using the word "reading" as something that is the counterpart of "writing".

Technically, the way I have been reading hasnt changed. People read web articles the same way that they read books or other writtern media. But "writing", that is the verb that specifically mean different things.

They call it "writing":

• When a novelist uses his favorite typewriter to writ- err - create a novel
  
• When a developer opens up his text editor to create a source code documentation
• When the ancient Egyptians made their hieroglyphics inscriptions
• When a bloggers creates a new post

Anyway, we can scrap the third example... that's too big a gap in time and in culture. Basically, the requirements for being able to read hasn't changed that much in terms of resources. But when in comes to writing, the requirements greatly vary. Some writers merely require use of pencils and pens while others require the use of typewriters, laptops and accompanying word processor softwares, etc. The writing device(the one used for writing) and the storage medium(the one that is being "written on") have changed and evolved.

From Wikipedia(where else?)
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as magnetic tape audio.

For reading, the medium might have changed from paper to screen monitors, but the act of reading still relies on the sense of sight(perhaps touch, if you're using the Braille system).

*But of course, the concept of "language" should be there in order to pass ideas from writer to reader. It's not "reading", if the reader(or the mere looker) is not able to understand the writing.

From Wikipedia(where else?)
Reading (process) is the human cognitive process of decoding symbols or syntax for the purpose of deriving meaning (reading comprehension) or constructing meaning. (pronounced "reeding").


Having "written" all that above, I'll just add that I do not have any plans in learning how to write nor read in another language other than the ones that I am already adept at (at least not in the immediate future).

Okay, so much for my encounter with the "Next Blog" link.