Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press was seen as a major step forwards for society. From this point on, people could get their hands on a book easier than ever before in history. It had momentous impact on society.
But it turns out that his method to publish material was much better than ever before, and it totally changed the world. Society was previously divided into the educated upper classes who were rich enough to afford to buy them and the poorer people who would not learn because they could not buy things to read. With Gutenberg's invention, suddenly that gap narrowed significantly. Poor people could now buy literature.
They did so in their droves. Before this, they were works of art which were hand transcribed by monks. They would be tied to making sure that the items were in keeping with religious beliefs and scriptures, and there was always the chance that mistakes were made.
Sometimes there were simple things mistaken. There are a number of 'bad' Bibles out there which allow people to commit adultery, for example. But printing presses altered this entirely. A modern equivalent is audio books.
These allow people to do much the same thing that printing presses did way back then. They can read quicker, easier and cheaper than ever before. Almost every piece of literature that has ever been printed will one day be available in a format that people can listen to in the car on the way to work or on their MP3 players.
It is a fantastic invention, the audio book. It promises to put power in the hands of people who do not have time or the inclination to sit down and read carefully from printed literature. This modern way of looking at books allows them to 'read' more speedily and voraciously than ever before. Much of the effort is removed from the process.
But it turns out that his method to publish material was much better than ever before, and it totally changed the world. Society was previously divided into the educated upper classes who were rich enough to afford to buy them and the poorer people who would not learn because they could not buy things to read. With Gutenberg's invention, suddenly that gap narrowed significantly. Poor people could now buy literature.
They did so in their droves. Before this, they were works of art which were hand transcribed by monks. They would be tied to making sure that the items were in keeping with religious beliefs and scriptures, and there was always the chance that mistakes were made.
Sometimes there were simple things mistaken. There are a number of 'bad' Bibles out there which allow people to commit adultery, for example. But printing presses altered this entirely. A modern equivalent is audio books.
These allow people to do much the same thing that printing presses did way back then. They can read quicker, easier and cheaper than ever before. Almost every piece of literature that has ever been printed will one day be available in a format that people can listen to in the car on the way to work or on their MP3 players.
It is a fantastic invention, the audio book. It promises to put power in the hands of people who do not have time or the inclination to sit down and read carefully from printed literature. This modern way of looking at books allows them to 'read' more speedily and voraciously than ever before. Much of the effort is removed from the process.
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