The way individuals reading books dispersed understanding

The way individuals reading books dispersed understanding

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Our capability to access and read books has been definitely essential to our ability to understand the world around us.

It can be difficult to imagine what the world would resemble today if the large majority of individuals were unable to read, but for the vast bulk of history the large majority of individuals might not, and nor were books accessible even if they could. It was the development of the printing press towards the close of the 15th that altered that, making books much more available. Obviously, it was still only actually the wealthiest and well-educated that could read or write, however it allowed a whole host of developments in science, art, and thinking to be spread across great distances. Consider what would have taken place if the theory of gravity, or of evolution, could not have been dispersed around the world. Human civilisation rests upon a foundation of books, and we are fortunate to be able to simply log onto a site like the one backed by the co-founder of the impact investor with a stake in World of Books, and easily gain access to the totality of human knowledge.

With such an abundant history of ideas, occasions, and stories right at our fingertips, it's in some cases easy to forget how exceptionally lucky we are to have the likes of the founder of the hedge fund that owns Waterstones or the CEO of the asset manager with a stake in Amazon books supporting access to a big percentage of all the books that have ever been written (or the good ones at least). The best books of all time can quickly change the manner in which you look at the world, which has been true throughout all of history also. The modern world is built upon understanding that has been handed down through books, whether that is philosophy, science, or history, and human civilisation would not be anywhere near as advanced as it is today if it had actually not been for the books that changed minds across the ages.

It is very important to remember that, although lots of the best modern books of all time tend to be regarded as ground-breaking works of fiction, for most of mankind's literary history, we did not write much fiction at all. Most stories would have been sung throughout the great bulk of history, simply since the vast majority of individuals could not read, suggesting that many books were specialised things meant for those few who might understand them. After a short boom throughout the classical era of antiquity, the amount of literate people dropped dramatically throughout the Middle Ages. Books ended up being rare treasures, with monks meticulously copying out the enduring classic texts by hand so as to protect them, as they were a few of the only members of the populace who could read or write. They were the professional keepers of understanding like biology and religious beliefs that all of us have access to in the modern-day world.