January 16, 2023
source: hist1900 lecture 3

Description

When written language was scarce, holding the information was powerful, and it was only the powerful who had access to literacy.
As recorded information became more common, it had to be organized in some way, but notice that there is no natural way for information to be organized! Therefore those who organize the information are those with power, and their choices reify that power and their biases.
Recorded information could also be obscured, or destroyed, and whoever had the ability to decide that also had a lot of power.

Connections

• The idea that the way a system is organized can have the power to affect society is reflected in the idea that mediums can impact messages
  6
  .
• Furthermore, since systems are technologies, this is evidence of the idea that controlling technology impacts culture
  7
  .
• website/3_atomic_notes/the Dewey-Decimal System
  5
  was a way to organize libraries, banks of information, and it reified the fascistic ideals of its creator.
• When the printing press
  1
  was created, suddenly anyone could be a writer and anyone could be a reader! Power dynamics changed and more people had access to writings. Yet over time, power was accumulated in the hands of the ruling class and book creation was more regulated. This parallels the start of the internet, where suddenly again way more people had access to reading and writing! And, yet again, the ruling class has standardized things and reduced us all to using the same 5 websites.