# US Ambassador takes oath on electronic device **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 2, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842 "2014-06-02T16:16:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/1 "2014-06-02T16:16:40Z")
[This is so cool.](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-u-s-ambassador-switzerland-swears-oath-e-reader-n120111) Makes sense, though. She used to work for Microsoft and Expedia. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/2 "2014-06-02T17:09:39Z")
Somewhere, buried deep in the memory, is a tiny text file that reads, “Not really”. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/3 "2014-06-02T17:34:52Z")
I think that is pretty stupid. Books still exist and are common, and e-readers don’t exactly have the permanence and history that printed books have. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/4 "2014-06-02T17:37:28Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I think that is pretty stupid. Books still exist and are common, and e-readers don’t exactly have the permanence and history that printed books have. Got any 1000 year old printed books? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/5 "2014-06-02T17:42:15Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I think that is pretty stupid. Books still exist and are common, and e-readers don’t exactly have the permanence and history that printed books have. And that makes the slightest bit of difference why? ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/6 "2014-06-02T18:01:10Z")
I think it’s the oath that’s important, not what she puts her hand on. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/7 "2014-06-02T18:04:45Z")
That Candy Crush Saga is pretty damn addictive, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/8 "2014-06-02T18:09:05Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I think it’s the oath that’s important, not what she puts her hand on. That sounds dirty. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/9 "2014-06-02T18:30:42Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And that makes the slightest bit of difference why? If the object you are putting your hand on makes no difference then why have an object at all? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/10 "2014-06-02T19:15:26Z")
My sentiments exactly. But those who **do** attribute some significance to the object now can move forward into the future. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/11 "2014-06-02T19:58:12Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > If the object you are putting your hand on makes no difference then why have an object at all? I never saw placing one’s hand on the book as swearing on the book, but swearing on the contents of that. That is, she wasn’t swearing on the e-reader, she was swearing on the 19th amendement, she was swearing on the constitution. Just as if one swears on the Bible, it’s not as much a swearing on the book itself as swearing on one’s presumed faith in God. Of course, to a certain extent, the idea of swearing on something is an antiquated idea, it’s supposed to be that one wouldn’t invoke something of great value to oneself without serious intent to keep that promise. Personally, I think it’s sort of passing the buck to not just swear based on one’s own reputation. I don’t trust someone because he swears to God, on the constitution, on his mother’s grave, whatever; after all, a liar wouldn’t have a problem swearing on any of those things anyway. I trust someone because of how they’ve behaved, and through that behavior shown that they can be trusted in the future. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/12 "2014-06-02T20:13:41Z")
I agree with most of what you said, but still, the e-reader just seems silly. What if they just swore on a coffee table book of “101 Important US Documents?” or a napkin with the 19th amendment written on it. Same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/13 "2014-06-03T03:44:57Z")
This is nothing new. I often swear on my computer. Or is that swear _at_ my computer? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-ambassador-takes-oath-on-electronic-device/689842/14 "2014-06-03T09:01:33Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Got any 1000 year old printed books? Well, actually almost - I have a page from a document written by a scribe since printing was not invented [in the sense of movable type] in 1500 BCE. Or I have a cylinder seal which was a form of printing onto clay that is slightly older. Depends what you want by printed - China was block printing books in the Tang Dynasty [roughy 600ish AD] while in Europe they were still copying them out by hand.