the-spot reporting of the Gulf war: Even before diplomats, politicians, and military personnel could filter it, the world gained access to news through the media 4.3 Disembodiment of Ideas noted earlier, knowledge in auditory cultures was embodied in the communal elder, who established the authority of the knowledge itself. However, with the printed book, alphabetic culture transferred the authority of knowledge to the physical object-ideas were retained in books and could be widely distributed. While there has always been a tendency for the masses to embody ideas in a person of great stature(e.g. Mao Tse Tungs Little red Book), the information society has emphasized ideology rather than glorify particular individuals. This change is particularly noticeable in the last decade 4.4 Minority Views are equalised By separating knowledge from individuals, it has become possible for minority views to gain equal footing in the field of knowledge. For example, given the cultural (and Christian) climate at the time, Luthers views were of in the minority but gained visibility as he reached a broader audience. Thus, the established structure underlying knowledge was attacked and undermined 4.5 Knowledge is Transformed into Information In response to the surge in written word, an industry arose whose main function it was to reproduce and distribure books, pamphlets, and other written materials. These industries were only secondarily concerned with the content of the material they published, however(unless it affected distribution). Neil Postman makes a forceful argument that in the late twentieth century society has reached the end of this dissemination in that information is left with no structure to it. In effect, knowledge has lost authority 5. The relationship between Knowledge and order On the side of order, it must be seen that the advent of the printing press with movable type brought an orderliness and standardisation to the publishing industry. Errors made when copying text and graphics by hand were eliminated. In 1516, the first book paginated with Arabic numerals was introduced--surely an indication of the order of the printed form. A chronological structure of books(starting at the beginning, and continuing in an orderly fashion, to the end) was established. Thus, the Middle Ages introduced an imposition of order and aesthetic standard for printed work. In the modern printed book these standards and order remain apparent: most text is justified and proportional; running headers occur on each page; chapters are clearly marked and pages numbered. The layout of the title page is standardised, as is the copyright page. An index is al ways found in the back(in English language texts, that is). In fact, entire books have been dedicated to the instruction of rules of style, grammar, and punctuation(e.g, The Chicago Manual of Style). These are attempts to impose order on all printed documents- 6 - the-spot reporting of the Gulf war: Even before diplomats, politicians, and military personnel could filter it, the world gained access to news through the media. 4.3 Disembodiment of Ideas As noted earlier, knowledge in auditory cultures was embodied in the communal elder, who established the authority of the knowledge itself. However, with the printed book, alphabetic culture transferred the authority of knowledge to the physical object--ideas were retained in books and could be widely distributed. While there has always been a tendency for the masses to embody ideas in a person of great stature (e.g. Mao Tse Tung’s Little Red Book), the information society has emphasized ideology rather than glorify particular individuals. This change is particularly noticeable in the last decade. 4.4 Minority Views are Equalised By separating knowledge from individuals, it has become possible for minority views to gain equal footing in the field of knowledge. For example, given the cultural (and Christian) climate at the time, Luther’s views were of in the minority but gained visibility as he reached a broader audience. Thus, the established structure underlying knowledge was attacked and undermined. 4.5 Knowledge is Transformed into Information In response to the surge in written word, an industry arose whose main function it was to reproduce and distribure books, pamphlets, and other written materials. These industries were only secondarily concerned with the content of the material they published, however (unless it affected distribution). Neil Postman makes a forceful argument that in the late twentieth century society has reached the end of this dissemination in that information is left with no structure to it. In effect, knowledge has lost authority. 5. The Relationship Between Knowledge and Order On the side of order, it must be seen that the advent of the printing press with movable type brought an orderliness and standardisation to the publishing industry. Errors made when copying text and graphics by hand were eliminated. In 1516, the first book paginated with Arabic numerals was introduced--surely an indication of the order of the printed form. A chronological structure of books (starting at the beginning, and continuing in an orderly fashion, to the end) was established. Thus, the Middle Ages introduced an imposition of order and an aesthetic standard for printed work. In the modern printed book these standards and order remain apparent: most text is justified and proportional; running headers occur on each page; chapters are clearly marked and pages numbered. The layout of the title page is standardised, as is the copyright page. An index is always found in the back (in English language texts, that is). In fact, entire books have been dedicated to the instruction of rules of style, grammar, and punctuation (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style). These are attempts to impose order on all printed documents