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M$1.00  Funded By Mahalo ? |  March 15, 2009 10:32 PM

What would we be doing instead of this if written language was never invented? Imagine...and describe.

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mattman4 mattman4
 
 March 15, 2009 11:02 PM
Mahalo! Answers would never have been created, so I wouldn't be sitting at my computer answering.

Most of the things we do daily could never have existed.
The only way to send a message before the highly unlikely invention of the telephone would be to send messages through people, which would be highly unreliable. The reason the telephone or any other major scientific discovery would be unlikely is that the researchers would be unable to take notes or record observations except in memory which can be easily and unknowingly corrupted. I imagine we would still have a very primitive society, and that we would be hunting and gathering, generally fighting for survival.

Of course, an advanced society without a written language is practically impossible.
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dbspringer dbspringer
 
March 15, 2009 11:42 PM
Some interesting, well thought out points @mattman4, but I have to disagree with you that advanced societies not being able to be formed without written language being impossible.

Take, for example, swarming insects like ants and bees: they have incredibly complex societies with advanced aspects like specialization of labor and efficient, long distance communication (via pheromones or bee dances). It would certainly be difficult, but I believe advanced societies could be possible!

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mattman4 mattman4
 
March 16, 2009 01:01 AM
I meant in terms of humans, who can't do that communicate with pheromones or anything, but now that you've got me thinking about it, that's a really good point.

It kinda makes me think of Ender's Game, and how the buggers operate on a hive mind. I wonder if they have written language? Who knows, maybe without a form of written language, humans could have eventually evolved something of that sort?

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smokenherb smokenherb
 
March 15, 2009 10:38 PM
I'm sure a series of grunts and sign language would take its place.

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emailuser4... emailuser4...
 
March 16, 2009 02:18 AM - New Source
Hmmm, so what would that be like?
Are you saying that we would have
something like aboriginal carvings:
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or Pictish carvings
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/97844767@N00/456990379

or Egyptian hieroglyphs
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/66164549@N00/2366402111

and when you press the right symbols on your Puter,
you would be able to grunt with someone else?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/53326337@N00/2419306009

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krishirst krishirst
 
March 16, 2009 06:54 PM
All advanced human societies had some way to track certain kinds of information. The Inca used bunches of knotted and dyed string, which researchers think may have held accounting data, genealogies and maybe even legends and history. Called the quipu or khipu, knotted strings were used in South America societies for at least 4500 years.

http://www.sfu.ca/archaeology/museum/laarch/inca/quipue.html
http://archaeology.about.com/od/ancientwriting/a/caralquipu.htm

I think if we didn't have the written word, we would have had to invent some way to keep track of those kinds of things--who paid taxes, who grew what, what happened in the past, what the seasons are likely to bring, when the summer is due, etc etc.
Source(s):
http://www.sfu.ca/archaeology/museum/laarch/inca/quipue.html
http://archaeology.about.com/od/ancientwriting/a/caralquipu.htm


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