Publications [#268056] of Henry Petroski

Papers Published

1. Petroski, H, In memory of the offprint, American Scientist, vol. 102 no. 1 (January, 2014), pp. 14-17, Sigma Xi, ISSN 0003-0996 [doi]
   (last updated on 2023/06/01)

   Abstract:
   The computer, Internet, e-mail, and facsimile PDF versions of articles have changed the way scholars and researchers think of and handle the writing, dissemination, and storage of their work. Digital media practices can vary considerably from field to field, but the ability to create a professionally formatted paper on a personal computer and rapidly post it on a website-considerably faster than peer-reviewed journals can post prepublication copies of accepted manuscripts-has changed the way scholarship and research results are made accessible to insiders and outsiders alike. Hence, the paper offprint and preprint have been replaced by their electronic cousins: the e-offprint and the pre-e-offprint. Ironically, however, the ubiquity of wireless connectivity has enabled people sitting around in groups to look at and speak not to each other but to the individual digital invisible colleges they communicate with through their smartphones and tablet computers.