QuoteProject
A good part of 'The Information' is about the transition from an oral to a literary culture. Books effected such a great transformation in the way we think about the world, our history, our logic, mathematics, you name it. I think we would be greatly diminished as a people and as a culture if the book became obsolete.
James Gleick
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote highlights the profound impact of books on culture and thought.

James Gleick's quote underscores the significance of the transition from oral traditions to written literature, emphasizing how books have fundamentally altered our understanding of various aspects of life, including history, logic, and mathematics. He warns that the obsolescence of books would lead to a significant loss in cultural richness and intellectual depth for humanity.

Themes

BooksCultureLiteratureEducationKnowledgeOral Tradition

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech on the importance of education, one might quote this to highlight the role of literature in shaping society.

More from James Gleick

We have met the Devil of Information Overload and his impish underlings, the computer virus, the busy signal, the dead link, and the PowerPoint presentation.
James GleickRead
I'm trying to look at many, many things in modern life that I believe are going faster, and I'm trying to look at why they're going faster and what effect they have on us. We all know about FedEx and instant pudding, but it doesn't mean we've looked at all the consequences of our desire for speed.
James GleickRead
Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, where pattern and randomness interlace.
James GleickRead
Every time a new technology comes along, we feel we're about to break through to a place where we will not be able to recover. The advent of broadcast radio confused people. It delighted people, of course, but it also changed the world.
James GleickRead
"Half genius and half buffoon," Freeman Dyson ... wrote. ... [Richard] Feynman struck him as uproariously American-unbuttoned and burning with physical energy. It took him a while to realize how obsessively his new friend was tunneling into the very bedrock of modern science.
James GleickRead
We have a habit of turning to scientists when we want factual answers and artists when we want entertainment, but where are the facts about the nature of the self? Neurologists peering at PET scans and fMRIs know they aren't seeing the soul in there.
James GleickRead

Similar quotes

I do not recall a Jewish home without a book on the table.
Elie WieselRead
If the idea of the universe is presented to the child in the right way, it will do more for him than just arouse his interest, for it will create in him admiration and wonder, a feeling loftier than any interest and more satisfying.
Maria MontessoriRead
The first task in teaching is to bring to consciousness what the students already believe by virtue of their personal experiences about themselves and society.
Paul WellstoneRead
Wrong education and upbringing produces ugly personalities, whereas a fine upbringing and good education will bring forth superior sense and feeling, as well as nobility and purity of mind.
Shinichi SuzukiRead
I entered the University of Natal as a preliminary-year student in 1966 and stayed on to June 1972, when I was expelled from the university. I was then doing third-year medicine.
Steven BikoRead
The basic economic resource - the means of production -_x000D_ _x000D_ is no longer capital, nor natural resources, nor labor._x000D_ _x000D_ It is and will be knowledge.
Peter DruckerRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.