HUMAN COLONY FORMATION 



technique advanced became very much faster than it 

 had been prior to that time. 



Now it is true that closer integration of a developing 

 societal organism would be greatly furthered by im- 

 proved means of communicating experiences and of 

 remembering them. Consequently it is apparent that 

 the knowledge of writing greatly speeded the integra- 

 tion process and may actually be regarded as the initial 

 phase of the development of what might well be called 

 a "societal memory." The invention of printing is 

 again a step forward in the effectiveness of language. It 

 means that the "societal memory" can improve more 

 rapidly, become capable of greater accuracy and be 

 partially shared by a greatly increased number of in- 

 dividuals. It is significant that the advent of the rela- 

 tively wide use of the printing press coincides closely 

 with a further increase in the rate of human progress. 

 Significantly, the rise of ancient science also coincides 

 closely with the perfecting of writing. The birth of 

 modern science falls in the period just after printing 

 came into use in the western world. Use of the print- 

 ing press marks in effect a distinct improvement of the 

 mechanism of the "societal memory." If one considers 

 such a collection of information as is represented in a 

 comprehensive set of encyclopedias, one can hardly 

 fail to regard this as anything else but a deposition of 

 societal knowledge. A deposition of this kind is not, 

 nor could it be, the result of the experiences of any 



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