European Renaissance: Its Impact On Today’s World
The word “renaissance” means rebirth. This was a period that marked the beginning of a revolution that redefined the way information was being processed. The renaissance has its influence even till today. When Guttenberg invented the printing press, it marked an important turning point in the Information Age.
Before the invention, information was transferred only by the means of word of mouth. There existed some forms of “newspapers” which ran for the elite. But when Guttenburg printed the Bible in his printing press, information had a new form…a rebirth. One might tend to think that it was destined to happen. The invention led to further revolution in information processing. Information was made available to the common man. Everybody had their right to know things.
Though there are many other aspects with regard to the renaissance period, the most interesting invention is the printing press. So I figured that it won’t be bad idea to talk about it. Guttenburg not only figured out a way to print information, he also was instrumental in finding a way to increase the quality of the material. He imported ink from India and used paper from Italy. He was also able to make the press print in mass amounts which made it cheaper and thus available to the common public. People began to read and gain knowledge of things happening not only inside their country but also around the world as the printing press became famous. This helped in increase in number of explorers around Europe.
Its Impact on Today’s World:
None of us could imagine a world without the internet and computers. I sit here in the US and I can speak with anybody with a phone anywhere in the world. Nobody could have imagined this a few hundred years ago. But all these developments eventually trace back their roots to the renaissance period. The reason is that without a start like that, it would have been rather impossible for such a change to occur. It is not the technology that really matters, but it is the impact that it has on its users. What changes does the technology drive in the lives of the humans. What renaissance thought us is that it requires a little bit of creative thinking and innovation to bring about a revolution (though slow in nature) that will have an impact in the world for generations to come.