Question 10- Time Travel and the Future of the Book

If I could travel back in time, I would visit Ancient Greece. Primarily, somewhere around the fourth century BCE, since I would wish to see the sights in their original glory while I am there. Presuming that I am able to converse in the native language, the really important aspect that I would tell the people about the future of the book is that reading and writing substantially increases as a form of communication and information. I would tell them that in the future nearly everyone can read. I believe somewhere near 84 percent of the world population is literate, which would be significantly higher than the past. The people may be shocked to hear such facts and it would be interesting to gauge their reactions. Every year this number increases as books and literature are progressively becoming important tools in developing and educating young minds. The act of reading is also not limited to scribes and bureaucratic vocations; people read constantly for entertainment and learning. 

I suppose the biggest difference I would tell them is that books are a new invention. No longer do we use clay, wax, and wooden tablets; we refine trees into thin sheets called paper and we bind these papers together to form a codex or book. Words are imprinted on these pages with ink (oils and dyes). Apart from this traditional book, the people of the future are continually bombarded with advertisements and textual forms of communication daily as well. While emails, blogs, and social media may not be considered books, the information that is shared seamlessly and instantly in my world would be fascinating to express.

In addition, as a final remark before I departed, the reason I would tell them all these facts would be to encourage the historians and authors to continue writing, to record as much information about their society and ideas as they can. In the future, thousands of years later, their writing, stories and accounts will be discovered and studied. I would stress the importance of words; they are tools to understanding their culture. These symbols shall provide us with the most direct interpretations, thoughts, and events of their world.