Achievements of the Printing Press

The consequences of printing:

—–> based on the Analysis of Robert Smail (cited from video at bottom of page)

- for educational purposes or for simply enjoyment

   – mass production of magazines and comics (from the 60s onwards)

- democratization of knowledge made everyone equal, and equal access to information for all

- was not restricted, ie: calling ourselves “Canadians” is due to movable print       – modern print nationalism leads to the nation state   – many social scientists claim that without the printing press Luther and Protestantism could not have taken off

- Bible being printing in different languages brought about religious differences

   – gave direct access to God, before that you had to ask someone

- economic effects of printing :

   – craftsmanship improved which led to the Industrial Revolution

   – application of standard pieces in assembly

   - skills split; paper maker, ink maker, printer, plate maker, etc.

      – this was quite close to the division of labour; increased efficiency

         – easy to see its implementations in other fields from this discovery

- environmentally friendly

- completely changed reading habits; created a mass public of readers

   – western individualism stemmed from booking reading where one would no longer need to rely on other’s opinions – one was free to form their own opinion

      - this changed our perceptions of space, time, and even of other individuals

      – the mental world shifted forever, moving forward, from this technology

Printing was the first tool that extended the human mind.