full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Julie Dreyfuss: The evolution of the book
Unscramble the Blue Letters
What makes a book a book? Is it just anything that stores and communicates information? Or does it have to do with ppaer, binding, font, ink, its weight in your hands, the smell of the pages? Is this a book? Probably not. But is this?
To answer these questions, we need to go back to the start of the book as we know it and understand how these elements came together to make something more than the sum of their parts. The earliest object that we think of as a book is the codex: a stack of pages bound along one edge. But the real turning point in book history was Johannes Gutenberg's printing press in the mid-15th century. The concept of moveable type had been invented much eliraer in Eastern culture, but the iutcritodnon of Gutenberg's pesrs had a profound effect. Suddenly, an elite class of monks and the ruling class no longer controlled the production of txets. msaegses could spread more easily, and ciepos could cantnsloty be pecrodud, so printing houses popped up all over eroupe.
Open Cloze
What makes a book a book? Is it just anything that stores and communicates information? Or does it have to do with _____, binding, font, ink, its weight in your hands, the smell of the pages? Is this a book? Probably not. But is this?
To answer these questions, we need to go back to the start of the book as we know it and understand how these elements came together to make something more than the sum of their parts. The earliest object that we think of as a book is the codex: a stack of pages bound along one edge. But the real turning point in book history was Johannes Gutenberg's printing press in the mid-15th century. The concept of moveable type had been invented much _______ in Eastern culture, but the ____________ of Gutenberg's _____ had a profound effect. Suddenly, an elite class of monks and the ruling class no longer controlled the production of _____. ________ could spread more easily, and ______ could __________ be ________, so printing houses popped up all over ______.
Solution
- introduction
- produced
- constantly
- europe
- earlier
- paper
- messages
- copies
- texts
- press
Original Text
What makes a book a book? Is it just anything that stores and communicates information? Or does it have to do with paper, binding, font, ink, its weight in your hands, the smell of the pages? Is this a book? Probably not. But is this?
To answer these questions, we need to go back to the start of the book as we know it and understand how these elements came together to make something more than the sum of their parts. The earliest object that we think of as a book is the codex: a stack of pages bound along one edge. But the real turning point in book history was Johannes Gutenberg's printing press in the mid-15th century. The concept of moveable type had been invented much earlier in Eastern culture, but the introduction of Gutenberg's press had a profound effect. Suddenly, an elite class of monks and the ruling class no longer controlled the production of texts. Messages could spread more easily, and copies could constantly be produced, so printing houses popped up all over Europe.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
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Important Words
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