Gutenberg: The pioneer of print
There was an abundance of ideas floating around Europe. These ideas associated themselves with the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. These ideas came in the form of the written word, often in books. However, there was a scarcity of technologies to distribute these books, as they had to be copied by hand. This process was tedious, long and expensive. It restricted these ideas to only the most erudite, wealthy of individuals. This changed when Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type.
The movable type allowed books to be printed or copied in a faster, more efficient manner. It was not as expensive as manually copying these books and allowed these books to be distributed to a wider range of individuals, most notably, the common man. Henceforth, did the ideas concealed within these books also spread, including ideas of scientific or religious relevance.
First and foremost, the movable type was mobilized by Gutenberg in order to print large quantities of the Gutenberg bible. This allowed those who did not possess considerable amounts of wealth to purchase these bibles.
This contributed to the Reformation, as individuals could now further evaluate the Bible, allowing them to make important religious choices. For example, Martin Luther suggested many contradictions of the Catholic church’ interpretation of the Bible. Individuals could now identify these contradictions first-hand. To accompany this, works such as the Praise of Folly and the 95 Theses were also distributed widely.
Moreover, the Scientific Revolution was also aided by the printing press. Ideas had emerged about society and nature, however many were unable to develop. This is because science requires cooperation, no single scientist can establish an idea alone, as for this idea to develop, other scientists must also support it. Unfortunately, there was no way of spreading these ideas, delivering them to other scientists.
Subsequent to the introduction of the printing press, these ideas could be printed in books and distributed to many other scientists and scholars, who could contribute to them. In this way, were these ideas able to develop and emerge as the basis for modern scientific knowledge.
The printing press was not merely an innovation that made life easier, however one that developed our knowledge about life. It allowed advances such as the Scientific Revolution to occur and the Reformation to take place. It is unmitigated that the printing press, and its innovative inventor Johannes Gutenberg, is perhaps one of the most important developments in technology.