Think, Write, Innovate
AI generated image, any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental
In my previous article “In what language do you think?” I explored the magic of AI translations. However, if you read the 2000 article (in German), you might have noticed my belief that we think not in a language, but rather rely on the language to preserve our thoughts. Historically, this has been done through writing, and more recently through audio and video recordings. The future might hold even more innovative methods for capturing and preserving thoughts. Could we someday capture thoughts in their original energy matter form and reuse them?
Reflecting on the evolution of thinking and writing, I decided to gather insights from several large language models (LLMs) about key places where people have stored their knowledge over time. Below is a brief history of media for human knowledge, compiled from responses by Grok 3 by xAI (best structure), Le Chat by Mistral AI (concise and good examples), ChatGPT by OpenAI (best on the digital age, but with shameless self-advertising in the AI section), Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental 01-21 (best overall), and Gemini Deep Research by Google (most sophisticated answer).
The brief history traces the progression of media for human knowledge, from ancient stone carvings to advanced computer systems. Each medium represents a significant advancement in how we capture, preserve, and share our collective understanding of the world.
Fun fact, many of these forms coexist today, albeit in modern variations, such as graffiti instead of cave paintings. Each medium has uniquely contributed to the preservation and dissemination of human knowledge, laying the foundation for subsequent advancements. Have you ever wondered what comes after AI?
How do you personally capture your thoughts? What works best for you? Do you see future personal AI assistants replacing pen and paper anytime soon? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
This article was written for fun, please do not judge. Instead, please share your comments in a constructive and respectful manner. The author and AI remain innocent until proven guilty.
A Brief History of Media for Human Knowledge
Pre-Literacy & Early Writing
Rock Art and Cave Paintings (Paleolithic Era, c. 3.3 Ma – 12 ka): The earliest known medium, dating back to prehistoric times, where humans used pictures on rock walls in caves and on rock surfaces to mark territory, record events, depict animals, and possibly convey cultural or spiritual knowledge. These were static and location-bound but incredibly durable. Notable examples include cave paintings in Lascaux and Altamira.
Oral Traditions (Prehistoric, c. 1.3 Ma – 3100 BCE): Before writing, knowledge was preserved and transmitted through spoken language, relying on human memory. Myths, legends, fables, and stories were memorized and recited across generations.
Petroglyphs and Rock Carvings (Neolithic Era or New Stone Age, 7000 – 1700 BCE): Similar to cave paintings but carved into rock surfaces, offering more durability and the ability to be created in open-air environments.
Writing
Clay Tokens and Tallies (Ancient Near East, c. 5000 BCE): Early forms of record-keeping, particularly for economic transactions. Small clay shapes represented different goods, and tally marks recorded quantities. A precursor to more complex writing systems.
Clay Tablets (Sumerian and Mesopotamian Civilizations, c. 3000 BCE): One of the earliest forms of writing surfaces. Cuneiform script was pressed into wet clay, which was then baked to create durable records. Used for administrative, legal, literary, and scientific texts.
Papyrus Scrolls (Ancient Egypt and Mediterranean, c. 2500 BCE): Made from the papyrus plant, offering a lighter and more portable writing surface than clay tablets. Used extensively in Egypt and the Greco-Roman world for religious texts, literature, administrative documents, and more.
Parchment and Vellum (Ancient World - Medieval Era, c. 1500 BCE): Made from animal skins (often calfskin or sheepskin), parchment and vellum were more durable and flexible than papyrus. Became the dominant writing material in Europe during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, often used for religious texts and early books.
Codices (c. 500 BCE – 500 CE): Early books where pages of written material were bound together, marking a shift from scrolls to a more familiar form of modern books.
Paper (China, then globally, 202 BCE): Invented in China, paper was a revolutionary medium due to its relative ease of production and lower cost compared to parchment. Spread globally and became the dominant writing material worldwide.
Print Revolution & Mass Media
Manuscripts (Handwritten Books - Ancient World to Printing Press Era): Collections of texts written by hand, often beautifully illuminated. Represented a significant effort to preserve and transmit knowledge but were expensive and time-consuming to produce.
Block Printing (China, Korea, Japan): An early form of printing using carved wooden blocks. Enabled the mass production of texts and images before movable type, but each page required a new block.
Movable Type Printing Press (Gutenberg, 15th Century): The invention of the printing press with movable type in the 15th century by Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized the spread of knowledge, making books more accessible and affordable, leading to the spread of literacy and ideas (e.g., the Gutenberg Bible). Movable type allowed for the reusable arrangement of characters, making printing far more accessible, efficient, and affordable.
Printed Books (15th Century onwards): The mass production of books led to an explosion of literacy, the spread of new ideas, and the democratization of knowledge. Books became a primary medium for storing and sharing information, education, literature, and scientific discoveries.
Pamphlets and Broadsides (16th Century onwards): Short, printed materials used for propaganda, announcements, and the rapid dissemination of information or opinions on specific issues.
Newspapers and Periodicals (17th Century onwards): Regularly published printed materials that disseminated news, opinions, and information to a wider public. Crucial for public discourse and shaping public opinion.
Magazines (18th Century onwards): Similar to periodicals but often focused on specific topics, longer-form articles, and a more specialized audience.
Visual, Audio and Video
Photography (19th Century onwards): Emerging in the 1830s, photography provided a new way to visually capture and store knowledge about people, places, and events, preserving moments in time. Photography has been instrumental in documenting history and cultural heritage.
Phonograph, Gramophone, and Audio Records (Late 19th Century onwards): Starting with the phonograph in the late 19th century and evolving to magnetic tape and beyond, audio recording allowed the preservation of sound, including music, speeches, and oral histories.
Film, Motion Pictures (Late 19th Century onwards): Combined visual and auditory elements to create dynamic narratives and documentaries, expanding storytelling and knowledge-sharing capabilities, becoming a powerful medium for education and entertainment.
Radio (Early 20th Century onwards): Introduced in the early 20th century [1920s], wireless transmission of audio information (radio broadcasting) enabled the instantaneous mass transmission of audio content, sharing news, stories, and knowledge across vast distances, becoming a powerful medium for news, entertainment, and education.
Television (Mid 20th Century onwards): Emerging in the mid-20th century [1920-1930s], television combined audio and moving images, becoming a dominant mass medium for disseminating news, entertainment, and cultural transmission to a broad audience. Radio and television played a significant role in shaping public opinion and cultural trends.
Magnetic Tape (Mid 20th Century onwards): Used for audio and video recording, enabling the storage and playback of audio and visual information, foundational for later video and audio formats.
Electronic and Digital Media
Computers and Digital Storage (Mid 20th Century onwards): Initially large and expensive, computers began to revolutionize knowledge storage and processing of vast amounts of information, leading to the development of digital text files, databases, and the early internet. Early forms included punch cards, magnetic tape, and magnetic disks.
Personal Computers (Late 20th Century onwards): Brought computing power to individuals and homes, making digital knowledge creation and access more widespread.
The Internet and World Wide Web (1990s): A global network connecting computers, enabling instant communication, information sharing, and access to vast amounts of digital knowledge. The World Wide Web revolutionized knowledge sharing, making information accessible globally in a connected, digital format. Websites, blogs, social media platforms, and online encyclopedias (e.g., Wikipedia) became crucial sources of knowledge. Digital formats, including websites, databases, and cloud storage, have vastly expanded the capacity for knowledge preservation and retrieval.
Digital Documents (Word Processors, PDFs, etc.) (Late 20th Century onwards): Text documents created and stored digitally, easily shared and edited.
Email (Late 20th Century onwards): Digital communication medium for text, documents, and other digital files.
Digital Images and Videos (JPEG, MP4, etc.) (Late 20th Century onwards): Digital formats for storing and sharing visual and auditory information, easily disseminated online.
Databases (Late 20th Century onwards): Structured systems for storing and organizing large amounts of data, essential for managing and retrieving digital information.
Online Encyclopedias (e.g., Wikipedia) (Early 21st Century onwards): Collaborative, online knowledge repositories, accessible to anyone with internet access.
Online Libraries and Archives (e.g., Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive) (Early 21st Century onwards): Digitized versions of books, documents, and other media, making historical and cultural knowledge more widely available.
Social Media Platforms (Early 21st Century onwards): Platforms for user-generated content, sharing information, opinions, and experiences. Can be both a source of knowledge and misinformation.
Blogs and Websites (Early 21st Century onwards): Platforms for individuals and organizations to publish information, opinions, and creative content online.
E-books and Digital Publications (Early 21st Century onwards): The advent of e-books and e-readers made books available in a digital format, offering convenience, portability, and accessibility. Digital versions of books and other publications, accessible on electronic devices.
Social Media (Early 21st Century onwards): Social media has become a dominant form of sharing real-time news, personal stories, and knowledge. It allows for interactive, crowd-sourced learning and dissemination of information.
Streaming Services (Audio and Video) (Early 21st Century onwards): On-demand access to vast libraries of music, movies, TV shows, and other audio-visual content.
Cloud Storage (Early 21st Century onwards): Distributed networks for storing digital data, allowing for access from multiple devices and locations, and facilitating collaboration.
Mobile Devices (Smartphones, Tablets) (Early 21st Century onwards): Portable devices providing access to the internet, digital media, and vast amounts of knowledge anytime, anywhere.
Virtual and Augmented Reality: VR and AR technologies provide a new dimension to knowledge, offering interactive and immersive learning experiences that combine visual, auditory, and sometimes tactile information.
Blockchain and Decentralized Knowledge: Blockchain technology is being explored as a way to securely store knowledge in a decentralized manner, ensuring that information remains tamper-proof and accessible by everyone globally.
Artificial Intelligence
AI systems, trained on vast datasets, represent a new frontier, not only storing human knowledge within their models but also processing and generating new insights, text, images, and more.
Knowledge Graphs: Structured representations of knowledge, connecting entities and relationships.
Machine Learning Models: AI models trained on vast datasets, capable of understanding, generating, and applying knowledge.
Large Language Models (LLMs): Powerful AI models that can understand and generate human language, acting as interfaces to vast amounts of information and potentially even creating new knowledge.
