Digital representations are convenient, efficient and been made widely available. A textbook in PDF format can be read on the phone, tablet or laptop, can be searched within seconds and shared in real time. Millions of people can access a digital music file without it being damaged. These are large strengths over analog forms.
However, limitations exist. Pdf makes everything feel touchless, eliminating the feel of pencils and paper notations, as well as minor formatting decisions. Live performance is more acoustical in sound than streaming music. Traditionally, the process of manuscript digitization preserved content, but most of the time, it lost context, color, and texture of the material. These tradeoffs are found in modern digital media: we have portability and reproducibility, but can lose the richness, detail or even authenticity of the original.
It is a reflection of this balance that makes me value both analog and digital form. The appreciation of the benefits and the constraints makes us make wise decisions regarding the timing of using digital representation and what we may lose in translation.
Connection to Objective: The present post shows the benefits and drawbacks of digital representation in past and contemporary scenarios and shows what one gains and loses.