Reading Is Fundamental–Part 1

But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling, like dew, upon a thought produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions think.
– Lord Byron

There was a day in which information was passed largely through oral communications. Word-of-mouth predominated. A teacher’s disciples sat around him as he taught. Gutenberg’s invention changed this significantly, opening the way for written media like books, pamphlets, and newspapers to move significant amounts of information to large numbers of persons who might never have heard the speaker or even lived in the same place or time. Consider that we probably have greater access to works of Plato, Cicero, and other ancient writers than did their contemporaries.

The Beginning

Let’s start at the very beginning
A very good place to start.
– “Do-Re-Mi,” The Sound of Music

Titles should, I believe, provide a good indication of what lies inside. I hope that will be true of “Things that Matter,” which I have selected as the initial title for this blog. Implicit within the expression is an important idea: that there are some things that do matter. Of course, by way of contrast, that idea suggests a corresponding idea: some things do not matter.