Impact of Movable Type

Marshall McLuhan, in his book, the Gutenberg Galaxy explores how the Introduction of Movable Type in Europe profoundly changed our consciousness and laid the foundation for, what we call, the modern world.

He felt that how we gained knowledge directed shaped how we created knowledge. That is, if our primary means of gaining knowledge are from books that are, by nature, linear progressions of thought, then how we solve problems will also be linear progressions.

"A" to "B" to "C", in a logical progression.

This analytical mindset has dominated our understanding of how we solve problems since the time of Rene Descartes . It underpinned the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment , and the Industrialism .

One might call this the Cartesian Mindset.

These Cartesian Mindset has dominated western thought, unchallenged until the introduction of the Agile Mindset of this digital age.