And yet I would never have read this well-written piece, except for the digital media and smart phone that brought it to me. Fortunately I could not see the length of the article when I started reading the first screen!
Haha, one of the perks of digital media I suppose is being able to disguise just how much I’m asking of my readers! Really glad you enjoyed the article.
No, no, I was commenting on my digitally shortened attention span. Your article was fine, and I was engrossed reading it. I look forward to the next installment.
Extraordinary post. My one small complaint is lack of any mention of Chinese block printing, which predates Guttenburg's mechanical printing by centuries. If what I've read is accurate, block printing doesn't seem to have transformed Chinese society nearly to the same degree that mechanical printing transformed European. But why not? It seems worth dwelling on here.
Really good distinction between written and verbal communication. And yes, it's something I’ve been reflecting on as well—verbal communication seems to have made a notable resurgence in recent decades. Initially through television and radio, and more recently with platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. For those who can present themselves well, verbal communication now offers a pathway to mass influence that was once reserved for the written word.
I also agree with your point about the drift toward abstraction, substituting the universal for the particular. But great writing, when done well, remains grounded—embodied, even—and has the power to reconnect us with the visceral and the immediate.
In today’s world, I’d recommend cultivating both verbal and written communication as complementary tools for building influence. Each reinforces the other. In fact, I’ve got an article which should be published in about a week or two examining oratory and the (lost) art of structuring a compelling speech—something that was commonplace in the 18th and 19th centuries and seems overdue for a revival!
And yet I would never have read this well-written piece, except for the digital media and smart phone that brought it to me. Fortunately I could not see the length of the article when I started reading the first screen!
Haha, one of the perks of digital media I suppose is being able to disguise just how much I’m asking of my readers! Really glad you enjoyed the article.
No, no, I was commenting on my digitally shortened attention span. Your article was fine, and I was engrossed reading it. I look forward to the next installment.
Extraordinary post. My one small complaint is lack of any mention of Chinese block printing, which predates Guttenburg's mechanical printing by centuries. If what I've read is accurate, block printing doesn't seem to have transformed Chinese society nearly to the same degree that mechanical printing transformed European. But why not? It seems worth dwelling on here.
Really good distinction between written and verbal communication. And yes, it's something I’ve been reflecting on as well—verbal communication seems to have made a notable resurgence in recent decades. Initially through television and radio, and more recently with platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. For those who can present themselves well, verbal communication now offers a pathway to mass influence that was once reserved for the written word.
I also agree with your point about the drift toward abstraction, substituting the universal for the particular. But great writing, when done well, remains grounded—embodied, even—and has the power to reconnect us with the visceral and the immediate.
In today’s world, I’d recommend cultivating both verbal and written communication as complementary tools for building influence. Each reinforces the other. In fact, I’ve got an article which should be published in about a week or two examining oratory and the (lost) art of structuring a compelling speech—something that was commonplace in the 18th and 19th centuries and seems overdue for a revival!