To the Victor Goes the Writing

As discussed in Jan-Dirk Muller’s chapter “The Body of the Book”, the written word can immortalize information that would otherwise die with those that hold it. This can extend itself to immortalizing a version of a person, with their histories documented and able to stand the test of time. However, who gets to decide what transcends mortality? Who gets to live forever?

In this chapter, the author discussed how the population of written texts, once completely copied by hand, changed when the printing press was created. No longer was information only copied and distributed by the few. Now many more people had the opportunity to write and publish information. The author seems to be displeased with this development, stating that printing “abolished traditional selection mechanisms that established what is worth knowing and preserving” (Muller, 182). This tone leads me to believe that the author does not view this as the triumph that it truly is. Traditional selection mechanisms for what was important to know was ruled by a select few who held power, oftentimes simply due to their lucky birth. This selection led to biased writing that could easily be used to manipulate the masses, as many viewed the written word then as a “vessel of arcane knowledge” (Muller, 183). Thus, the control of those who wrote these books was immense, and the ability for more information to be dispersed without being fed through the filter of the powerful was a very strong tool, often inspiring revolutions.

Today, everyone is an author and a publisher. Creating digital content is easier than ever and can be shared globally with the tap of a button. With this new sea of information, we must remember to not treat what we read with such reverence as people once did. What we consume could be factual, peer-reviewed information, or it could be something made up by someone on the internet for fun. While it is a good thing that we are able to all create and share information, we must be more diligent than ever in determining the reliability of what we read.

Despite concerns over reliability, this new era of communication where everyone is a publisher means that everyone is immortal. Immortality seems to lose its luster when it’s so common, however, and that may leave some like Muller disappointed.