I and Mich Tvede have a new working paper out called Technology of Cultural Transmission I: the Printing Press. This is one of a series of papers growing out of my work on Wyclif’s Dust the book. Hence the “I” in the title: there are sequels to come.
The increased availability of books as a mechanism for enculturation is an interesting one. But does the contents of the books matter?
A person's prior history of studying books is a signal of their ability to work at a difficult task without a lot of supervision. Their willingness to spend many hours reading is a signal of their industrious. The content of books will be driven by the fashion and culture of the day, i.e., customer demand is what sells.
Technical books came later because it took a while for nobles to realise that they could gain status by sponsoring their publication, much like they sponsored works of art.
The analysis in 'Setup' pulls equations out of thin air (references would be good), and makes lots of assumptions the free flow of people, ideas and book contents being uniformly of practical use. There does not appear to be much connection with the earlier text.
The increased availability of books as a mechanism for enculturation is an interesting one. But does the contents of the books matter?
A person's prior history of studying books is a signal of their ability to work at a difficult task without a lot of supervision. Their willingness to spend many hours reading is a signal of their industrious. The content of books will be driven by the fashion and culture of the day, i.e., customer demand is what sells.
Technical books came later because it took a while for nobles to realise that they could gain status by sponsoring their publication, much like they sponsored works of art.
The analysis in 'Setup' pulls equations out of thin air (references would be good), and makes lots of assumptions the free flow of people, ideas and book contents being uniformly of practical use. There does not appear to be much connection with the earlier text.