Our capability to access and read books has actually been definitely vital to our ability to comprehend the world around us.
It can be difficult to picture what the world would resemble today if the vast majority of individuals were unable to read, but for the vast majority of history the large bulk of individuals could not, and nor were books accessible even if they could. It was the creation of the printing press towards the close of the 15th that altered that, making books much more accessible. Obviously, it was still just actually the richest and well-educated that could read or write, but it made it possible for an entire host of breakthroughs in science, art, and thinking to be spread across great distances. Consider what would have occurred if the theory of gravity, or of evolution, could not have actually been dispersed across the globe. Human civilisation rests upon a foundation of books, and we are lucky to be able to just log onto a site like the one backed by the co-founder of the impact investor with a stake in World of Books, and quickly gain access to the totality of human knowledge.
It is essential to keep in mind that, although lots of the best modern books of all time tend to be considered as ground-breaking works of fiction, for the majority of humanity's literary history, we did not write much fiction at all. Many stories would have been sung throughout the great majority of history, just since the large bulk of individuals might not read, suggesting that most books were specialised things meant for those few who could understand them. After a brief boom during the classical era of antiquity, the amount of literate individuals dropped significantly throughout the Middle Ages. Books ended up being unusual treasures, with monks meticulously copying out the enduring timeless texts by hand so as to maintain them, as they were a few of the only members of the population who were able to read or write. They were the professional keepers of understanding like biology and faith that all of us have access to in the modern-day world.
With such an abundant history of concepts, occasions, and stories right at our fingertips, it's in some cases simple to forget how extremely lucky we are to have the likes of the founder of the hedge fund that owns Waterstones or the CEO of the asset manager with a stake in Amazon books supporting access to a big percentage of all the books that have ever been written (or the good ones at least). The best books of all time can easily change the manner in which you take a look at the world, which has actually held true throughout all of history also. The contemporary world is built upon knowledge that has actually been handed down through books, whether that is ideology, science, or history, and human civilisation would not be anywhere near as advanced as it is today if it had actually not been for the books that changed minds across the ages.