Why individuals having books to read built the modern-day world

Why individuals having books to read built the modern-day world

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The world today is built on an almost incomprehensible quantity of understanding that has been passed down in books.

It can be difficult to envision what the world would resemble today if the vast majority of people were not able to read, but for the large bulk of history the huge bulk of people could not, and nor were books accessible even if they could. It was the creation of the printing press towards the close of the 15th that altered that, making books far more available. Of course, it was still only really the richest and well-educated that could read or write, however it made it possible for an entire host of developments in science, art, and thinking to be spread across great distances. Consider what would have happened if the theory of gravity, or of evolution, could not have been distributed around the world. Human civilisation rests upon a structure of books, and we are fortunate to be able to merely log onto a site like the one backed by the co-founder of the impact investor with a stake in World of Books, and quickly gain access to the totality of human understanding.

It is necessary to bear in mind that, although a lot 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 compose much fiction at all. Most stories would have been sung throughout the great bulk of history, merely due to the fact that the huge bulk of individuals might not read, indicating that a lot of books were specialised things meant for those few who might understand them. After a short boom during the classical era of antiquity, the quantity of literate people dropped considerably throughout the Middle Ages. Books ended up being unusual treasures, with monks meticulously copying out the surviving classic texts by hand so as to preserve them, as they were some of the only members of the population who were able to read or write. They were the expert keepers of understanding like biology and religious beliefs that we all have access to in the modern world.

With such a rich history of concepts, occasions, and stories right at our fingertips, it's in some cases easy to forget how incredibly fortunate 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 substantial percentage of all the books that have ever been written (or the good ones at the very least). The best books of all time can quickly change the manner in which you take a look at the world, and that has held true throughout all of history also. The modern world is built on understanding that has been passed down through books, whether that is ideology, science, or history, and human civilisation would not be anywhere near as advanced as it is today if it had not been for the books that changed minds throughout the ages.