RETRO-ANTICIPATION
Twenty-nine years ago, Prof. Mihai Nadin, in his book The Civilization of Illiteracy[1], described the end of literacy. Reading and writing in what is called natural language. Reading and writing is replaced by the visual and a variety of partial literacies related to specialised languages.
In our time of fast progress in what is called artificial intelligence, his prediction resonates more than ever. The lines below are his thoughts on the topic expressed in a dialog with his Romanian publisher. We are grateful to him for taking the time to share them with our GEAB readers.
The negation of language: The first cognitive break of the digital era
The “civilisation of illiteracy” should be understood as an era of a multiplicity of means of expression. Their number is increasing fast; they change as we change, not only through using them, but also by being reshaped by them. Their number increases because we have developed the technology for diversifying the means of expression with the purpose of automating ever more activities.
The progress of technology is facilitated by the languages of the sciences, but also by the existence of the very particular languages they embody. The digital is one of them, but not the only one. These are “spoken” (i.e., used) only by individuals engaged in specialised activities. Those who are employed in an activity that can no longer be explained in the language common to all, need the means of literate expression less and less.
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