Why It Took Centuries to Invent Science - Ada Palmer

Ada Palmer challenges the oversimplified narrative that science emerged simply because Renaissance scholars rediscovered ancient texts. She uses an analogy comparing this oversimplification to claiming that Napoleon's rise directly led to moon landings, pointing out that we recognize the missing steps in modern history but fail to do so for earlier periods. Palmer argues that new ideas and ways of organizing society require fertile environments that take time to develop. She explains that you need sufficient books in circulation before you can have scientific journals, and that people often mistakenly think higher literacy rates create more books rather than the reverse. Using Florence as an example, she notes that despite a 90% male literacy rate driven by merchant activities requiring letter-writing and account-keeping skills, very few people actually read books. Palmer draws a distinction between basic literacy and 'book literacy,' comparing it to how some people watch television but not films while others consume lots of films. She concludes that science depends on this transformation from basic literacy to access to broader intellectual worlds encompassing scientific, legal, and other domains of knowledge.