Some good thoughts (via Daring Fireball) on how digital devices often fall short of their three-dimensional, physical counterparts.

I’ve thought a lot about this regarding tablets and e-book readers, which focus more on convenience over feeling.

With my recent purchase of a Kindle device, I feel closer to paper because e-ink looks like paper, as opposed to iPhone/iPad screens which look like computers.

Yet even the Kindle device does not mimic all of paper’s characteristics. Here are some tactile things I miss about paper (and reading physical books):

1. The smell of a freshly opened book.
2. Being able to caress or fold pages with my fingers.
3. Flipping through a book’s pages with my thumb to get an idea of how much more is left to read.

I often find myself wanting to turn the page on the Kindle screen by using my thumb and index finger in a pinching motion.

There’s just no way digital screens and devices (in their current form) can emulate this feeling associated with physical things.