What Does Nakamura Think of Email?

Hank Glassman, a professor of Buddhist Studies at Haverford University told me this little story about when he was visiting Nakamura in the mid 1990s and he explained to Nakamura what email was.  I said, "Hank, do you remember what Nakamura told you?"  Here's his answer:

Yes, I remember well -- Nakamura asked if I feel excited to check it -- like 'Is a little gift waiting there?' -- with an impish lilt he said, "Hmm... I wonder, has something come for me, I wonder, I wonder?" -- and then disappointed if there is nothing. He said something along these lines -- that there is a sense of anticipation that takes one out of the task at hand and away from the present moment. And he added, "It sounds horrific."

Nakamura making a cover for a hand-bound book

Hank then added, "at that time, I had no idea what the future of email held for me. Utterly overwhelming."