I'm listening to The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman. In this 2005 book, Friedman, a columnist for The New York Times, explores how technology and globalization have "flattened" the globe.
It's a good book so far, but I have a big problem with the editing. Friedman quotes someone as saying that the flattening of the world is a fundamental development equal to "Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, the rise of the nation state, and the industrial revolution."
News flash: Gutenberg didn't invent the printing press. In about 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented a press that used a system of movable type. This made printing cheaper and faster. Movable type and the printing press both were invented in Asia long before Gutenberg came along.
I do wish otherwise intelligent people would stop reinforcing the myth that Gutenberg invented the printing press. Especially if those people are journalists. They should know better.
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