
Ask HN: Why aren't offices paperless already? - picibucor
Paperless offices were once a great hype.
Still it isn&#x27;t a thing. Why?
======
itamarst
There's a book about this: [https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/myth-paperless-
office](https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/myth-paperless-office)

``` Central to Sellen and Harper's investigation is the concept of
"affordances"—the activities that an object allows, or affords. The physical
properties of paper (its being thin, light, porous, opaque, and flexible)
afford the human actions of grasping, carrying, folding, writing, and so on.
The concept of affordance allows them to compare the affordances of paper with
those of existing digital devices. They can then ask what kinds of devices or
systems would make new kinds of activities possible or better support current
activities. The authors argue that paper will continue to play an important
role in office life. Rather than pursue the ideal of the paperless office, we
should work toward a future in which paper and electronic document tools work
in concert and organizational processes make optimal use of both. ```

