Writing Technologies + 16th Century Book Trade (Powers)

"Motivations for the Development of Writing Technologies"\

• As exhibited in the history of writing technologies, the principal motivation for technological advancement is improved efficiency. 
• The technological advancements made in the industrial revolution laid the foundation for all contemporary writing technologies (i.e., Typewriter--> Computer)

• A writing machine is labeled as such if it has the capability to rearrange an unlimited array of words and symbols, along with a moveable text feature.

Book Trade- 16th century

• The reformation occurring in Europe during the 16th Century was a major/primary catalyst for the publishing boom seen at that time. With religious reform came the need to translate texts such as the Bible into vernacular languages. New aesthetic features were also added to texts to
• These changes contributed to a new found societal appreciation for texts, both ancient and modern. This "humanist" education centered around classical, historical and cultural studies. ]

Comment: In the "Motivations" reading, I found it interesting/confusing that the author chose to define a writing machine as having "unlimited" capabilities in regards to text manipulation. 

Question: Religious censorship of texts was common throughout the 16th century. Do you feel censorship is still an issue with texts today? How have technology and economics affected this?