The way great books affected human development

The way great books affected human development

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The world today is built on a nearly incomprehensible amount of understanding that has been passed down in books.

With such an abundant history of ideas, events, and stories right at our fingertips, it's in some cases simple 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 substantial proportion 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 alter the way that you look at the world, and that has held true throughout all of history too. The modern-day world is built upon knowledge 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 actually not been for the books that changed minds throughout the ages.

It's important to remember that, although lots of the best modern books of all time tend to be considered ground-breaking works of fiction, for the majority of mankind's literary history, we did not compose much fiction at all. Most stories would have been sung throughout the great majority of history, simply since the large bulk of individuals might not read, indicating that the majority of books were specialised things meant for those few who might comprehend them. After a quick boom throughout the classical era of antiquity, the amount of literate individuals dropped dramatically during the Middle Ages. Books became unusual treasures, with monks meticulously copying out the surviving traditional texts by hand so as to protect them, as they were some of the only members of the populace who could read or write. They were the expert keepers of knowledge like biology and religious beliefs that we all have access to in the contemporary world.

It can be difficult to picture what the world would be like today if the vast majority of people were not able to read, but for the vast bulk of history the huge bulk of individuals might not, and nor were books available even if they could. It was the creation of the printing press towards the close of the 15th that altered that, making books a lot more accessible. Of course, it was still only really the wealthiest and well-read that could read or write, however it made it possible for an entire host of advancements 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 dispersed around the world. Human civilisation rests upon a structure of books, and we are fortunate to be able to just log onto a website 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 understanding.