The Evolution of Publishing and the Written word

Over the years, publishing and technology have evolved into complex forms of social transaction. The publishing of the alphabet in Greece around the 9th century, is the original technology of publishing. However in this unique context of the time and hierarchy of Greece,  it was difficult for text to to span beyond the topics that were already familiar and predictable to the reader. 

So far from the scope of expression, ancient texts and literacy in general were used as tools of acquiring and preserving power. As is has come up in past readings, the job of ancient scripts was to preserve, reproduce, and interpret important scripts.   

Scripts were like the MC's of ancient times!

 Creating books by hand was very labor intensive. The creation of the printing press changed the scope of developed society. Digital text continues to change the scope of developing society in way that is constantly evolving and under inspection.
However, "...even though technologies change, the way they are used in social forces remain fairly consistant". (220)
Kalmach.

Page to Screen

This reading discusses how hypertext is a new textual medium that deconstructs linear narrative. The act of reading on a computer screen is indeed different from that of reading out of a book. For instance: http://www.wikipedia.org/  Ha! You cannot get that out of a book!

The key idea in hypertextual structure is the link ! The incredible volume of information and its potential accessibility, define the speed in which information can be accessed on the WEB.

The way which material is read and understood can be implied by the author by using an "Affect Transfer' principle. For instance, if I bring up the topic of Evolution, the reader might think of many things. The relation of evolution to science and religion, or perhaps just Monkeys, in this case Fast Food!


One fascinating aspect of this phenomenon is surfing. This refers to our ability to screen information very quickly due to the high volume of stimuli in which we are bombarded with on a daily basis. It is easy to get off track if something catches your attention. Did you get preoccupied with the Fast Food link above? We often flip through channels, stations, and other media so quickly, it is difficult to stay focused.  However, "With such capabilities, the Web can give readers an enormous opportunity for discovery and synthesis" (120)

Work Cited:
Burbules, Rhetorics of the Web.

"Reading about how writing and publishing were practiced in technological contexts that pre-date desktop computers...affect things like writing process and writer-reader relationships."(Kalmbach 220)
This guy had excellent penmanship, as I'm sure did many of his peers. I can't help to think what their websites would have looked like?

 The reading states that the alphabet writing system was developed in Greece and was the original technology of publishing. Have you ever seen the Arabic Alphabet?

Now there's some cultural difference. I often wonder how others in different cultures text on cell phones using their seemingly astounding and intricate libraries of meaning. This I will do more research into. Anyone?

I find it fascinating how the scribes of the Middle Ages adopted the Greek Alphabet and thought it of pinnacle importance to preserve ancient manuscripts and produce good copies. Although, their job on many occasion was to interpret these scripts while reproducing them. This leads me to believe there could have been some rhetorical spin on reproduced documents perhaps to accommodate the interests of those in power. After all, I may read something a different way for a buck! Would you?

Johannes Gutenberg, born in Mainz in 1398, is considered to be the father of the printing press. By 1500 printing was scattered all throughout Europe and even the New World. One of the most influential, circulated books in early printing was:  

Saducismus Triumphatus: or Full and Plain Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions by Joseph Glanvil printed by F. Collins London 1681

Essentially, this book describing evidence for the existence of witches, influenced the Salem witchcraft trials, which took place 10 years later. I find it ironic that at the opposite spectrum of social horror, sits that of burning books, not witches.