Printing and Digital Media.

The printing press, which I talked about in a previous blog post, made it possible for literature to be mass produced at a quicker rate that was less expensive. It provided the common people of the Renaissance Era the opportunity to own books and read what great scholars where discovering and learning all over the world. But that's just it...printing allowed GREAT SCHOLARS and WELL KNOWN FIGURES to promote their ideas.

Gutenberg Press

People like John Locke, Martin Luther and Voltaire were able to express their revolutionary ideas. John Locke, for example, promoted a more liberal philosophy which is considered a "keystone" to American government and other Western countries' governments. Martin Luther was considered the father of the Protestant Reformation, which taught people to break away from the traditional teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and taught that it was through the grace of God and one's own faith that one could be saved. Voltaire, another prominent figure (writer) of the Renaissance Era who advocated freedom of religion, free trade, and separation of church and state. 



During this time, these ideas strongly impacted society and European culture so much so that we are still influenced by them today. Our own country is uses a liberal government system in which the people are the voice of the country. The United States consisted of many people from various cultures who are not only of the Roman Catholic faith. And lastly, we have freedom of speech, free trade and our government follows the law of separation of church and state.

But can printing in our day and age affect those who come after us just as much as printing in the Renaissance Era? Yes and No. Classics  and well known printed works of literature, such as the Bible, are still commonly read in book form. It is also easier to personally give someone a physical copy of a work of literature in its original and intended form of a book or pamphlet.

However, copies and texts of books nowadays can be found on the internet. Instead of reading printed texts, people often can be found searching the internet for e-copies of the books or any other type of information. This process can be much quicker than searching through mounds of books in a library in order to find one piece of information. Also, through the use of the internet ANYONE can contribute the the World Wide Web of knowledge. This can be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. It allows people who otherwise would never have the chance to have their opinions be heard on a broad scale to now have the opportunity to express their beliefs. But at the same time, those who promote beliefs that are not widely acceptable can also be found on the internet and can sometimes take over the digital world.

I just thought it was interesting that the Digital Age is the new revolution following the printing press in regards to spreading knowledge. I;m interested in knowing how this will affect our generation and our generations to follow. Will our grandchildren or even children ever want to pick up a book? Or will they create a new form of digital media which will help people come across knowledge in a more widespread or faster rate? Thoughts? Ideas?