Post by Admin on Feb 1, 2019 23:02:41 GMT -5
This project began with the attempt of asking the question: are books a dead medium in the climbing community? As it became increasingly clear that books, rather than being dead, embody a fragment of a complexly navigable web of climbing media, the question developed into, "How are different mediums used as means of learning in the climbing community?" This, in theory, opened up the entire internet and publishable content to examination. For the purposes of this project, only a select popular few were examined and discussed, though the sampling includes all types of media of many forms and functions. The goal of this research is to understand the role of this media, how it is used, and what space it might carve out in the sport.
Climbers, as this project shows, are highly opinionated and set in their ways. At the beginning of a longer conversation, this climber states, "There is an exception to every rule for how one should learn." No two climbers used any combination of materials in exactly the same way. The learning experience is unique, and climbing media represents a unique space in each climber's experience. Yet, between social interactions, shared opinions, and online threads, it is evident that spaces do exist for these materials. Thus, as will become evident throughout the forum, as much as climbers like to claim the sport is an act of doing (even though it is), and as much as climbers like to claim oral tradition is should be the main method of learning (even though many times it should), media is prevalent in some way, shape, or form, in almost every climber's interaction with the broader community.
Climbers, as this project shows, are highly opinionated and set in their ways. At the beginning of a longer conversation, this climber states, "There is an exception to every rule for how one should learn." No two climbers used any combination of materials in exactly the same way. The learning experience is unique, and climbing media represents a unique space in each climber's experience. Yet, between social interactions, shared opinions, and online threads, it is evident that spaces do exist for these materials. Thus, as will become evident throughout the forum, as much as climbers like to claim the sport is an act of doing (even though it is), and as much as climbers like to claim oral tradition is should be the main method of learning (even though many times it should), media is prevalent in some way, shape, or form, in almost every climber's interaction with the broader community.