Page 17 - Eloquence 2017

Chinese inventor Bi Sheng was credited with the world of colour. The foundation for the
developing the porcelain device, which was invention of electric telegraphy was laid by
described in statesman Shen Kuo’s book inventors Joseph Henry and Edward Davey.
“Dream Pool Essays.” He wrote: In 1835, both had independently and suc-
“…he took sticky clay and cut it in characters cessfully demonstrated electromagnetic re-
as thin as the edge of a coin. Each character lay, where a weak electrical signal can be
formed, as it were, a single type. He baked amplified and transmitted across long dis-
them in the fire to make them hard. He had tances. Samuel Morse developed the
previously prepared an iron plate and he had Morse’s code which communicated across
covered his plate with a mixture of pine resin, oceans and its special feature was the sys-
wax, and paper ashes. When he wished to tem of signal induced indentations that corre-
print, he took an iron frame and set it on the lated to numbers and special characters of
iron plate. In this he placed the types, set the alphabet. In hind sight one can see that
close together. When the frame was full, the we were walking towards computers!!
whole made one solid block of type. He then Of course we all know the story of Alexander
placed it near the fire to warm it. When the Graham Bell and the telephone. But what if
paste [at the back] was slightly melted, he someone tried to call and you weren't availa-
took a smooth board and pressed it over the ble? Sure enough, right at the turn of the 20th
surface, so that the block of type became as century, a Danish inventor named Valdemar
even as a whetstone.” But it wasn’t until a Poulsen set the tone for the answering ma-
German smithy named Johannes Gutenberg chine with the invention of the telegraphone,
built Europe’s first metal movable type sys- the first device capable of recording and play-
tem that mass printing would experience a ing back the magnetic fields produced by
revolution. Gutenberg’s printing press, devel- sound. The magnetic recordings also became
oped between the year 1436 and 1450, intro- the foundation for mass data storage formats
duced several key innovations that include oil such as audio disc and tape.
-based ink, mechanical movable type and ad- The world didn’t stop. It marched on to more
justable molds. Altogether, this allowed for a methods of communication efficient, fast, and
practical system for printing out books in a innovative. However what is it that we com-
way that was efficient and economical. municate now? Our opinions if we have any.
Around 1605, a German publisher named Jo- Or else we have become a generation
hann Carolus printed and distributed the “forwarders”. We keep forwarding music,
world’s first newspaper. The paper was called movies, quotes, thoughts, jokes but never
“Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenck- what we are thinking. Or is it that in this bom-
würdigen Historien,” which translated to bardment of communications hitting us from
“Account of all distinguished and commemo- all sides we have forgotten to think for our-
rable news.” selves? Or are we so involved in imposing
The world was truly inducted into the world of our opinion on others that we have forgotten
communication. that communication is a two way street? As
By the 19th century, the world was ready to Tony Robbins wrote “To effectively communi-
move beyond the printed word. When cate, we must realize that we are all different
French inventor Joseph Nicephore Niepce in the way we perceive the world and use this
captured the world’s first photographic image understanding as a guide to our communica-
in 1822 it was the prelude to exciting times in tion with others.”
pictures, sounds and movies! Then followed
the quantum leap from black and white into

Only if you are peaceful and joyful,, you really enjoy the world you live in

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