Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 2014 Cambridge Paper 2 Insert (Revolutions in Communication)

    Uploaded by

    Imagreenbucklegirl SG
    34 views2 pages

    Original Title

    2014 Cambridge Paper 2 Insert (Revolutions in communication)

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    34 views2 pages

    2014 Cambridge Paper 2 Insert (Revolutions in Communication)

    Uploaded by

    Imagreenbucklegirl SG

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 2
    2 Ermly Speight cansidors revolutions in communication, past and present 11 How many mes have we beon tod that studying the past lps us understand tha present? Unikaly as itmay seem, a look back atthe turmol! created by the vention of mechanical _rntng in Europe, neaty six centuries ago, does indeed reveal paralels withthe equally ‘Selame affects of todays revolubon in communications. 2 Before the advent ofthe printing press the production of books was a painstaking process, ‘with each unique copy ofa text Randwritten onto bulky pages of perishable animal skint \was then read by the tiny trate ete who could afford such rare and expensive items, and ‘who understandably quarded such treasures zealously Al his was changed by Gutenberg Invention of machanical printing in Germany in the 1450s. (The Chinese creatod presses before this but seem not to have fully exploited or exported ther invention.) As result (ofthis fst assembyine method of production, copies were now unormly duplicated in hitherto urdreamed of numbers. Books became more portable, durable and affordable, hhonce reaching an ever-expanding audionce 3 Moreover, change was not just @ matter of how the books were produced. The sudden _avalability 2 multiple copies of toxts led tothe dissemination of the existing ones approved ‘1 by the authorities. Many of these volumes had been previously scattered in remote lirares ar for the frst time it was possible to read al that had been written on a subject. However, cnce readers had thelr nm access to these books thay could spot errors in Indlvdual txts and disagreements between texts. This created scepticism towards and ‘ven rejacion of previously unquestioned schools of thought, as well as allowing for ‘synthesis and the formulation of now theories. 4 Init, printed books visually resembled existing han-copied manuscripts, but printers ‘oon Saw fat the new medium offered scope fo include supporting illustration, such at ‘maps and drawings ~ forerunners of the visual elements of web-pages. Bu, even more significant, new texts by ving authors now proferate. bringing into circulation new ideas. even heresies — which proved impossible to suppress completa and which threatened the powor site. (And not only were powerful insttutions challenged: new texts were offen produced in contemporary languages, which fatally undermined the primacy of Latin as the language cf mediovalinoletual discourse. Today, the burgeoning use of English on the \wob showsthe converse ofthat decine,) In ation, forthe fist ime thore was a means to ‘oop abroastof now olgjous and scientific thinking and then to contribute in print to such debates, so that future editions were corrected, thus creating a new cuiture of "feedback". 5 Author caneequance wae the advent of the madam conoopt of authorehip, whoraby ‘named individual gained reward and celebrity through publication, though this newfound benefit was then ‘tel threatened by the rise of piracy. Clandestine presses sprang up ‘everyhere producing unauthorised copies of popular editions ~ precursors of modern day tlegal dowioads. I took three hundred years before any kind of copyright systom latlompted 0 saleguard the financial interests of writs an publener, a system wich today struggles to keep pace withthe ever-changing ramifications of what is possible on the net Finally, let us not forget further parallels with today that the content of some printed txts was eroneous, eluded, trl, offensive or malicious and tat some authors, rather than enjoying wealth, suflored persecution. {5 The printing evoluton hotied some and delighted others; a similar dsparity of views ‘xt today about the internet. What is undeniable about the nets that om ts genesis, as ‘a network enabling academics to share fis, it has facitted an explosion inthe amount of ‘material avatable and an increased ease of access tot Advocates ofthis naw digtal age rightly laud ts creation of a culture of connectednoss and empowerment, where one can ‘communicste with family friends and peers unconstrained by time or cstance. As well as ‘ounes anoez0H eonaone 10 5 25 3 ‘accessing a wealth of data, along with information, advice and entertainment, we can join ‘global communities based on shared interests or, even beter, create cur awn. Seen in His light, the internet constitutes an extension of existing social Ives, nota vtual replacement for them. Active parfeipaton and collaboration with others are crucial ~preterabe, surely. te being the lone, passive consumers wo are with television, which was once just as willed by ecaremengere as the internat s now 7. Some commentators, however, hold loss rosy view, suggesting that rather than liberate, the internat ensiaver, creating unhealthy additions; that on-line retailers seek o shape and ‘plot our tastes by suggesting what we would Ike rather than lactating experimentation anc happy discovery that much of the materia availabe is unvoiable and inappropriate; that the interat’ very sfeed and accessibity lead fo over-hasty actons, without due rellecton ‘and consideration ol possible consequences. What Is even worse is that it caters to much that's base in human nature ~ narcissism, exhibitionism, malice, aud... In adéton, cries argue that is ereatng a ganeration who skim rater than delve, who click from source to source without eal engagement wih content and the altendant consoldation of knowledge. Equally supericial, some claim, are the connections with other. Instead of face-to-face ‘encounters and true friendships bult on tes of trust, responsibly and give-and take, ‘socalled friends are now amassed in onine networks and just as easly posed of. And cis assert there wil be further casualties: tracional Ibavies, newspapers, bookshops = ‘even the printod bock ise - wil reach the end of the road fist opened up by Gutenberg. ‘8 Supportors of tho net have to concede that much ofthis pessimistic speculation is plausible. Presumably technobgical advance is always made atthe cost of previous behaviours oF

    You might also like