Exactly why the best books are greater than just stories

Exactly why the best books are greater than just stories

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The world today is built upon a practically incomprehensible amount of knowledge that has actually been handed down in books.

It can be hard to picture what the world would resemble today if the vast majority of individuals were unable to read, but for the vast majority of history the huge bulk of people could not, and nor were books available even if they could. It was the development of the printing press towards the close of the 15th that changed that, making books a lot more available. Naturally, it was still only really the wealthiest and well-read that could read or write, however it enabled a whole host of advancements in science, art, and thinking to be spread out throughout 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 lucky to be able to simply 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.

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, suggesting that the majority of books were specialised things meant for those few who could understand them. After a brief boom during the classical era of antiquity, the amount of literate individuals dropped significantly throughout the Middle Ages. Books ended up being unusual treasures, with monks fastidiously copying out the enduring timeless texts by hand so as to maintain them, as they were a few of the only members of the population who were able to read or write. They were the professional keepers of understanding like biology and faith that all of us have access to in the modern-day world.

With such an abundant history of concepts, occasions, and stories right at our fingertips, it's often simple to forget how exceptionally 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 huge proportion of all the books that have actually ever been composed (or the good ones at the very least). The best books of all time can quickly alter the manner in which you look at the world, and that has been true throughout all of history as well. The modern world is built upon understanding that has actually been handed 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 across the ages.