If you had to pick which you think has had more of an impact on the world, would you choose the printing press or the personal computer? Perhaps it’s too early to tell.
But this much we know: Johannes Gutenberg (1400-1468) changed the world dramatically.
We’re used to books being cranked out that are exactly alike. If one page of a book has no errors, then that’ll be true of the next 100,000 copies. If there is an error, then you’ll find the same error on the other copies.
As you likely know, the first major work (1455) of his press was the Gutenberg Bibles, copies of the Latin Vulgate translation of scripture. The first priting of the Greek text of the New Testament came almost six decades later (1514).
But before the invention of moveable type, the copying of scripture was done by Christ-followers very slowly: line by line, word by word, letter by letter. For the first three centuries, most copying was done by “nonprofessionals” — i.e., by those who were just literate Christians (which was likely less than 10% of the population) rather than by professional scribes.
Probably around the fourth century, this job was passed on to professional Christian scribes, many of whom worked in a scriptoria — places for the copying of manuscripts.
We don’t have any of the original copies of the New Testament gospels and letters. We don’t even have copies of the copies. Our major manuscripts come from the fourth century and later (though there are a few pieces of papyri that date back into the second century).
It makes me thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ who took on the serious task of preserving scripture — both the early nonprofessionals and the later professional scribes. I rarely have the patience to sit and copy a whole page of notes. They went meticulously through page after page after page.
And it makes me thankful for the work of Gutenberg and others who made the process a bit easier.
Now — printing press or personal computer?
I agree with you Mike that it’s probably too early to tell. However, I’ll offer my two cents worth anyway. It’s hard not to choose the printing press with almost 6 centuries of perspective. Perhaps decades or centuries from now the computer will occupy the status that I believe the printing press has now in terms of how it has reshaped the world it came into.
For the few who may want an update on the all-star team, you can look here: http://eteamz.active.com/tx5/files/2006Sectionals.pdf. Scroll down to West Texas Section 2 Junior League. We play tonight for the championship of Section 2 against the winners of the Dallas district.
Makes a person wonder how ordinary followers of Jesus got along without personal copies of scripture, doesn’t it? Ironically, that could be a very important question for us to ask today. What did it mean to follow Jesus without a Bible to study?
One “side effect” of the printing press was that literacy began to spread to the “common folk” a lot more. I do not think that computers (of any sort) have had that kind of impact. Though I agree that it is hard to just 500+ years vs. 25 or so, I still say that the printing press wins.
That should say “hard to compare 500+ years…”
Too early to tell, but the PC has radically altered the way we obtain, process, and share information. Case in point: two months ago, I was in the student center at Rochester College using my laptop’s wireless connection. I left a comment on this blog. Three minutes later, the guy at the table next to me said, “Hey Mark, nice comment on Mike Cope’s blog.” On the down side, the ease of “publishing” via computer has created some problems. In the book era, to publish one’s thoughts required a publisher to deem it worthy, and several editors to guarantee it was nearly flawless. Not so with online posts. The result is an unmanageable volume of stuff to read, and no way to sift the wheat from the chaff. Then when you find quality, too often, it’s a flicker on the screen, then gone forever.
Do you have to win two tonight Mike? Good luck! Is Chris taking the hill or did he pitch last night?
Since I am highly involved with both, I have to say the press is most significant because it presented an entirely different way of putting thoughts down on paper. The computer is an evolution of the typewriter. While it is important and has literally changed the world, the press was such an innovation at the time and set up the world for greater things to come.a
In 1999, when the History Channel did their “100 most influential people of the last 1000 years” program, their number 1 person was Guttenberg. Number 2 was Martin Luther.
I’m going with the Gutenberg on this one. The printing press RADICALLY changed the world at that time, and I don’t see the PC having that kind of impact.
Good luck in your upcoming games!
DU
I work with both technologies extensively in my business. At this point, I would have to say that the printing press has had the greatest influence. It completely changed Western culture as we know it. The computer has been revolutionary but it has far to go to catch up with the press as a cultural influence.
I agree that Gutenberg changed the world! Afterall, we have seen so many changes in the book industry due to his invention. But the PC is an evolution that I think changed the communication of the world, not necessarily the book industry. Does that make sense? In other words, the PC has caused us to communicate differently, but not necessarily with knowledge!, just words and only that the words get out faster!
The Gutenberg way allowed knowledge to be passed on with certainty and guidance from publishers. We can determine what is worthy of reading by looking at the author, his history and reading the book cover! With PC’s, it is only the method of getting the words out faster that makes them worthy, not the context of the words.
I go with Gutenberg! My son-in-law was a book binder and he and his uncle were priviledged to work on a Gutenberg Bible that is now in the UT library! It was a great honor for them and awesome to me that they were holding this early work!
Good luck in Chris’ games and tell Gina I said hi!
Since in my estimation a Personal Computer is useless without a printer… I would have to say the Printing Press.
i do not know of anyone being burned at the stake because of the web but it has been close at times.
Being a book junkie, I have to go with the printing press, as well. Being able to print bulk copies of the written word changed society in the most amazing ways. It opened doors for groups of people to communicate with each other about the same material with their own individual responses. It increased literacy among multiple classes of society. I don’t believe the personal computer can boast those same innovations. Computers were really just the next logical step of the same idea. Making the same information available to larger groups in easier ways.
Now, if we were to pit the printing press against the internet, the competition might be a little different.
Printing press. Without it, there would not even be enough literate people in the world to even consider having a “world wide web.”
Thanks, Gutenberg. How different our lives have been because we can read!
So far the printing press. Contrary to traditional CofC belief, the Churches of Christ wouldn’t exist without it.
Man, how could they sit and copy all of that without Adderall or Ritalin? I shutter to think about it.
I meant SHUDDER. See…I have to go now and medicate.
Larry-I think you bring up a great point. How often does scripture actually blind us to the person of Christ? For what it’s worth I will go with Gutenberg. I believe that computers will eventually change the face (if they haven’t already) of human relations and the learning process. Much like you have been saying, Mike, the folks who copied the manuscripts were meticulous. They did not have the modern convenience of a delete key. How does this technology shape the quality of our work when it’s so easy to erase it all?
I’m guessing that someday the personal computer will be seen simply as a step in the evolution of the printing press as a disseminator of information.
And people of that era will dig up this blog in a positronic archive somewhere and wonder why we made a distinction.
All I know is that there were a lot of selfless people sacrificed much –including their lives — to make the message of Christ accessible to many who had never before had an opportunity. Those few literate scholars and scribes who did all they could to preserve, translate, and copy the Word for the greater good are my heroes!
I keep thinking of all the trouble Wycliffe went through to translate the Pentateuch, and the sheer feelings of woe he must have felt when he lost them in the English Channel on his way to get them printed. Before the days of the carbon copy, or copy machines.
Please do not forget that there are still many folks in our world today who are not ‘computerised’. Many of my friends here still cannot afford a computer, broadband, etc. And those that can are not that savvy with the technology. But they are still extremely literate with the hard copy of the printed word. They remind me constantly how much I take my technology for granted. (Many of those in my church choir still do not use E-mail.)
Hopefully, as those of us who are so fortunate to afford the technology, with all its bells and whistles, enjoy the ease with all the mediums we can communicate through today, Gutenberg and those who followed him will never be forgotten.
Cheers!
Building on what Dana said … If the question were “Printing press or internet?” — I’d say it would be a tie. Both have revolutionized the way we communicate and learn. I’m a huge huge huge fan of Gutenberg, and am in awe of how mass-produced books have forever changed culture, society, religion, literacy, etc.
But the internet has truly given the power of the press (the media) to the people. Consider this quote attributed to A.J. Liebling: “Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.” Before the internet, your Average Joe who wanted to express his opinions could write a letter to the editor, or maybe even an occasional column in the newspaper, host a cable-access show or an hour on a radio station. But those outlets are owned and controlled by a small number of companies (for a chart, Google “The Nation, The National Entertainment State, 2006″), so the chance for Average Joe’s voice to be heard in the traditional media is very small.
With the internet, we all own our own presses, in a sense. Any Joe (or Mike!) with a blog or a free Yahoo web page can be a publisher, and have millions of readers or listeners all over the world. We can immediately forward an email to 999 of our closest friends. The Internet can be used to connect people like no book can. Also, the way we can instantly access information via the internet is revolutionary.
I’m not saying the internet is perfect. The debate about credibility of independent web publishers has been raging on since before Matt Drudge broke the Monica story (he was an independent journalist unaffiliated with a major outlet; just a guy with a web page). Who do we believe? And as Deb said, there are still issues with access, affordability, and usability for many people (but that number is decreasing rapidly). In some ways, books are still a better medium for communicating. I’m saying the Internet has been, and will continue to be, revolutionary in the way we share knowledge. I’d vote that it’s as revolutionary as the Gutenberg press.
First time poster, longtime reader. Thanks for your blog, Mike.
Here’s a thought — with the advent of the computer - are more Bibles in circulation today than, say, 35 years ago? My guess is no - despite the preponderance of information available - and the ease of actually downloading and printing a Bible from a computer - I’d bet a substantial percentage of the global population still has no access to the Bible.
The computer is to the Guttenberg
what
The space shuttle is to Kitty Hawk, imho.
As world population has grown it would seem God has shown man how to devise more rapid and widespread communication and travel methods, thereby giving us the tools necessary to reach all corners of the earth for Him.
Would anyone know if there is any great difference in the percentage of people hearing the word in Guttenberg’s time as compared to today?
No printing press–no PC.
Know printing press–know PC.
Sorry. That was really cheesy. This happens to people who work overnights.
Credibility of stuff on the internet has concerned me. (After all, even I have a blog.) But something off a printing press with a publisher does not necessarily lend credence to what is said. Consider people like Charles Barkley and Terrell Owens who have been misquoted in their own autobiographies. Consider any number of hot-button issues that have large quantities of opposing viewpoints written about them. While it is true anyone can say anything if they have an internet account, it seems to be true that anyone can say anything if they have a buddy in the publishing biz.
Michael Polutta said: “One ’side effect’ of the printing press was that literacy began to spread to the ‘common folk’ a lot more. I do not think that computers (of any sort) have had that kind of impact.”
Well, they have — only, it seems to be the opposite impact. As anyone else who teaches English to teenagers and young adults can testify, sometimes it’s terrifying to see how completely unintelligible some of the popular abbreviations and spellings are. For some students, there seems to be a complete disregard for punctuaion and grammar rules even in essay assignments and notes to their instructors. (And most don’t even use the “I’m trying to be like ee cummings” excuse anymore.)
Of course, there are plenty of students who do not rely on IM or chatroom language for written expression, but it’s becoming increasingly common to see computer-talk applied to professional communication. So while I would agree that the printing press had more of an impact on literacy in the big picture, computers are definitely taking their toll in the modern era.
(I’m sorry for the rant but I just finished grading a pile of student essays so this topic is definitely on my mind.)
Great Discussion
Just recently I visited the University of Michigan’s Graduate Library and was able the largest collection of papyri in the Western Hemisphere. http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/
In their special collection section called: From Papyri to King James: The Transmission of the English Bible http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/exhibits/papyri_james/review.html There is a Bible from the Gutenberg Press. Awesome!
I’d have to say the computer because it touches so many areas of life. So many daily tasks, so many career opportunities, so much communication, so much creativity, the list goes on and on.
The PC…it allows me to read your blog and simultaneously see how badly the Braves are beating your Cards….marvelous invention!
I would vote for this order in importance.
Macs . . . . Gutenberg press . . . . slide rule . . . abacus . . . . PCs
Go Braves!
Peace.
Kathy asked “Would anyone know if there is any great difference in the percentage of people hearing the word in Guttenberg’s time as compared to today?”
According to the United Bible Societies — and I have no idea if they’re a legit organization; but they do have a web site so they *must* be legit, right?
— since Gutenberg’s first Bible was published in Latin, “there are now over 2,370 languages in which at least one book of the Bible has been published. Although this figure represents less than half of the languages and dialects presently in use in the world, it nonetheless includes the primary vehicles of communication of well over 90% of the world’s population.” (Go here http://www.biblesociety.org/index2.htm and click on Growth trends)
I’m assuming these are book Bibles and not web page Bibles.
Well, ya took two from Garland and finished ‘em off, eh? Fabulous. Now what’s next? qb
When there is a solar powered PC/printer combo equipped with reliable wireless internet globally that creates it’s own paper available to anyone in any country free of charge with free upgrades - then it’s a toss up.
It’s all about how much power has been releaed to people.
The question is, will people be responsible with that much power? How are we doing so far?
The computer has affected people’s lives in way more areas than the printing press.
Word processing
Communication
Information storage capabilities
Information manipulation (complex formulas, calculations, etc.)
Streamlines and maximizes industry, factories, etc.
Complex problem solving
Nano-technology
Criminology (accessible criminal records, fingerprints, etc.)
Banking
Automobiles
etc., etc. etc.
The printing press was revolutionary at the time, but did not reach nearly the areas of human existence as does the computer. The computer seems to me to win hands down. (whatever hands down means - maybe I’ll look it up on my computer
The impact of of the computer on basic science research alone (which is what I’m doing this summer) has been incredible. The research we’re doing (involving endless pages of data and conversino formulas) would never have been possible without computers- indeed, most of these experiments were never even imagined in the first part of the century. This is true for biotechnology too- a lot of the discoveries and devices that will impact the globe in the coming years are directly related to the computer.
That said, I like the analogy of the computer to the PC as the space shuttle is to Kitty Hawk. Why? Because the space shuttle is really a pretty lousy next step. While it’s a lot more complicated than the Wright Brothers’ flyers, its complexity is largely designed to keep a large workforce working and to provide a ‘comfortable’ level of space access. It was never really pushing the envelope in the sense that the Apollo program was. But the key is that there is potential for so much more. The personal computer can really level the playing field in many ways for people in impoverished countries. True, in many places, even in the US, computers and the Internet are inaccessible to the poor, but where the access is, a sort of ‘flattening’ of the world has occurred. Computer techs in India can get excellent employment tending to your service needs… So the impact of the computer on developing countries will be greater than the impact here- they simply have more to gain.
Give it about 50 years, when computers are even smaller, much cheaper, and more easily available around the globe, and I think we’ll see that PC’s and the internet have done more for equal access to information than the printing press did.
I vote for Gutenburg, but only God knows for sure the measure of influence and why these inventions came along at specific times in history. I started copying the Bible one time, hoping to learn more of the text, got to Genesis 13. Pass the Ritalin.
Larry’s “wonderings” are valid. Did those without a copy of the Bible have an easier time of simply follwing the Master? What about the illiterate today? Just obey from the heart what you’ve learned to do to follow Christ; don’t sweat the small stuff like whether your fish sticks orignally had scales or not.
I heard the story/legend, preacher story, about a group of Christians, 1949-1952, who only had the short section of Colossians 3:12-17 to live by because copies of Bible were burned when missionaries were forced to leave China: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you; And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace fo Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (NIV)
The computer and Internet can be a great distraction and often assist me in wasting time, even doing Bible research, but time spent in the word of God has yet to be a waste of time.
I still love the feel of a book in hand (thank you Gutenburg), even though it came to my hands through the means of computers.
Ramblings are over.
I just thought this was ironic:
“We’re used to books being cranked out that are exactly alike. If one page of a book has no errors, then that’ll be true of the next 100,000 copies. If there is an error, then you’ll find the same error on the other copies.
As you likely know, the first major work (1455) of his press was the Gutenberg Bibles, copies of the Latin Vulgate translation of scripture. The first PRITING of the Greek text of the New Testament came almost six decades later (1514).”
And now, “priting” has been reproduced for all who read this blog. Kind of funny. I guess neither the printing press nor the pc can save us from ourselves.
Priting or printing, or my sloppy byline for Mr. Gutenburg, when it should be Gutenberg. Yikes.