On 12/12/2013 3:51 PM, Andrew Fildes wrote:
> I was always fascinated by the feats of memory that illiterate people (and
> small, pre-literate people) could achieve. Remember the whole bible and not
> make a (blasphemous) mistake is a good example. Once we learn to read, we
> lose it because we no longer need it.
Pre-literate people, as least in Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, had long
traditions of people and techniques to
retain information through memorization.
There is an argument to be made that such a system is more useful for cultural
traditions and spiritual/religious
beliefs and practices than written words. Error inevitably creeps in. And it
will generally adjust the oral tradition to
adapt to changing cultural needs and situations.
Printing then gets even more 'restrictive'. There is, for example, clear proof
that Christians who worked at copying
texts by hand altered them to reflect Christian dogma, both religious and
historical. Some was undoubtedly
propagandizing, come honest mistakes from someone with a different
understanding copying something difficult or damaged,
and some honest attempts at correction of obvious errors.
For better or worse, that stops with the printing press. (But starts again with
the web?)
Rant On Moose
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What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
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