The Greatest Invention: A History of the World in Nine Mysterious Scripts
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- Author：Silvia Ferrara
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Summary
Silvia Ferrara's The Greatest Invention is a code-cracking tour around the globe， sifting through our cultural and social behavior in search of the origins of our greatest invention--writing。
The L where a tabletop meets the legs， the T between double doors， the D of an armchair's oval backrest--all around us is an alphabet in things。 But how did these shapes make it onto the page， never mind form such complex structures as this sentence？ In The Greatest Invention， Silvia Ferrara takes a profound look at how--and how many times--human beings have managed to produce the miracle of written language， taking us back in time to Mesopotamia， Crete， China， Egypt， Central America， Easter Island， and beyond。
With Ferrara as our guide， we examine the enigmas of undeciphered scripts， including famous cases like the Phaistos disk and the Voynich Manuscript; we touch the knotted， colored strings of the Incan khipu; we study the turtle shells and ox scapulae that bear the earliest Chinese inscriptions; we watch in awe as Sequoyah invents a script all on his own; and we venture to the cutting edge of decipherment， where high-powered laser scanners bring tears to an engineer's eye。 As Ferrara demonstrates， in the shadows and swirls of these ancient inscriptions， not only are we able to decipher the stories these peoples sought to record， but we can also tease out the timeless truths of human nature， of our ceaseless drive to connect， create， and be remembered。
An exhilarating celebration of human ingenuity and perseverance， The Greatest Invention chronicles an uncharted journey， one filled with past flashes of brilliance， present-day scientific research， and the faint， fleeting echo of writing's future。
Includes Black-and-White Images
The L where a tabletop meets the legs， the T between double doors， the D of an armchair's oval backrest--all around us is an alphabet in things。 But how did these shapes make it onto the page， never mind form such complex structures as this sentence？ In The Greatest Invention， Silvia Ferrara takes a profound look at how--and how many times--human beings have managed to produce the miracle of written language， taking us back in time to Mesopotamia， Crete， China， Egypt， Central America， Easter Island， and beyond。
With Ferrara as our guide， we examine the enigmas of undeciphered scripts， including famous cases like the Phaistos disk and the Voynich Manuscript; we touch the knotted， colored strings of the Incan khipu; we study the turtle shells and ox scapulae that bear the earliest Chinese inscriptions; we watch in awe as Sequoyah invents a script all on his own; and we venture to the cutting edge of decipherment， where high-powered laser scanners bring tears to an engineer's eye。 As Ferrara demonstrates， in the shadows and swirls of these ancient inscriptions， not only are we able to decipher the stories these peoples sought to record， but we can also tease out the timeless truths of human nature， of our ceaseless drive to connect， create， and be remembered。
An exhilarating celebration of human ingenuity and perseverance， The Greatest Invention chronicles an uncharted journey， one filled with past flashes of brilliance， present-day scientific research， and the faint， fleeting echo of writing's future。
Includes Black-and-White Images
Reviews
Darren Nelson
，
This is an inherently fascinating topic and the friendly tone of this book， invites more study of others' views。 Other readers will write better all around reviews， but here are a few of my takes: 1。 The process of deciphering requires an open mind， a consideration both of language and writing as a separable phenomenon， and a humble acknowledgement of the work of others and lucky breaks when they happen。 2。 The link between highly centralized/bureaucratized civilization and developed script is o This is an inherently fascinating topic and the friendly tone of this book， invites more study of others' views。 Other readers will write better all around reviews， but here are a few of my takes: 1。 The process of deciphering requires an open mind， a consideration both of language and writing as a separable phenomenon， and a humble acknowledgement of the work of others and lucky breaks when they happen。 2。 The link between highly centralized/bureaucratized civilization and developed script is often there but NOT absolutely necessary， with clear counterexamples。 3。 The primacy of the syllable and syllabaries in budding writing systems is emphasized with many examples， whether of great antiquity or relatively recent。 4。 The importance of iconicity， rhebuses， and indeed building on puns in developing useful writing systems。 5。 A clear overview of the scripts thought to be original inventions and not clearly influenced by other cultures。 One critique as a general reader is that the pop cultural references and jazzy informal metaphors and analogies are overdone and ended up just annoying me。 Others might find them relatable and entertaining。 The writing style itself seemed a bit odd and stilted to me but that might be a critique of the translator。 。。。more
BlackOxford
，
Bloody BabelSilvia Ferrara tells a fascinating story about writing using the device of nine as yet undeciphered scripts of the ancient world。 Each of these scripts is fascinating in its own right。 And Ferrara recounts what we know about each in a way that is both authoritative and playful。 She is clearly a master of her trade and therefore confident enough to be poetic， humorous， and speculatively self-reflective in her exposition of what might be the most creative as well as productive of any h Bloody BabelSilvia Ferrara tells a fascinating story about writing using the device of nine as yet undeciphered scripts of the ancient world。 Each of these scripts is fascinating in its own right。 And Ferrara recounts what we know about each in a way that is both authoritative and playful。 She is clearly a master of her trade and therefore confident enough to be poetic， humorous， and speculatively self-reflective in her exposition of what might be the most creative as well as productive of any human act， the invention of writing。I can’t tell my agglutinative from my fusionals not to mention from my polysynthetics in linguistics。 But I think there is also another story contained within Ferrara’s exposition of the nine scripts more accessible to the linguistic unprofessional。 This is a 5000 year saga of linguistic sociology that is much more engrossing than the research results of the various linguists， archaeologists， ethnographers， and practitioners of geodesy and geomatics who are involved in Ferrara’s work。 This other story is somewhat subtly placed but it is there in her book。 So her insistence on some established facts - that writing is a collaborative and experimental invention， that it creates enduring （but not all） societies， that it is the fundamental technology of our species which has allowed us to successfully engage in evolutionary competition - isn’t primarily about her trope of undeciphered scripts。 Rather， what she shows is that writing is a tool of alienation as well as empathy， a decidedly mixed blessing just as the biblical story of the Tower of Babel suggests。As I read Ferrara， this paradox of a linguistically generated empathy and alienation is inherent in written language itself。 The paradox doesn’t assert itself suddenly but， like the slowly boiling frog， through an incremental process of development （except for Chinese which had the equivalent of the miraculous Virgin Birth in linguistic terms）。 For her， writing begins with drawing， particularly drawing of the things of everyday life - animals， plants， parts of the body， natural features。 These are images that are purely expressive。 They may evoke a response in others but their meaning is solely in that response。 They are not functionally dissimilar to， for example， the warning call of the blackbird in my garden announcing ‘there are bipeds on the loose in the area。’ Except， of course， that in writing the warning can be communicated without the sound。 From that starting point， again as I read Ferrara， written language binds people together but at the cost of divorcing them from the rest of the world， including other people， and perhaps even themselves。 Linguistic signs （hieroglyphs， ideographs， letters） emerge from the shapes of things drawn。 In a sense， drawing promotes a sort of identification， perhaps even a spiritual sympathy， with the things depicted。 But these innovative written signs ‘stand for’ something other than what they are。 They indicate， or denote， or， direct。That is to say， signs come gradually to exist in their own right - and clearly so， there on rock or papyrus， turtle shells， or in clay tablets。 They ease into a new status of icon。 Continuing the evolutionary process， the icon is transformed into a logogram。 The logogram is a sort of independent icon， a free radical in chemical terms perhaps， which can change its meaning without changing its sound。 Logograms attach themselves to other logograms like molecules of hydrogen and oxygen to form the equivalent of water in new linguistic substances。 Writing has then become liberated from speaking and an entirely new world is opened up as linguistic ‘things’ proliferate。Logograms most significantly form into the revolutionary （as well as evolutionary） invention of syllables。 Syllables are the building blocks of all language， much like prime numbers are the building blocks of mathematics。 They can be mixed and matched in any number of ways。 They are structured into words （or sometimes combined with pictograms in a sort of rebus） which are then mixed according to emerging rules called grammar。 What might have been vocal convention now becomes a linguistic requirement of writing， which， while not entirely fixed， is much slower to change。Freed from speech， logograms also can have different sounds without changing their meanings， as with many Chinese characters。 Or， more problematically， they can retain their links to sounds and have multiple meanings。 These are the homophones which exist in abundance in English as well as Chinese。 English relies almost solely on context to distinguish meaning while Chinese developed special marks to denote what would be vocally ‘tones’ and so kept writing competitive， as it were， with speaking。 And as Ferrara points out: “Using this one， small， versatile unit of meaning [the logogram]， we can express two things on completely different ends of the semantic spectrum， and create humor。”At some point grammar intrudes and provides structure。 Written marks with no sound at all， - like the so-called ‘determinants’ which indicate the grammatical class of a word or the tonal designations in Chinese。 Cases and declensions emerge directing how words relate to each other rather than to things that are not words。 Words are created for things that aren’t even things - emotions， relationships， abstract concepts， God。 Each step in the evolution of writing takes it further from the drawing which was a mere appreciative expression of the natural world。In time， written languages start to breed with each other， as with Sumerian cuneiform and Akkadian script。 Most remnants of any original ‘natural’ symbology are obscured or erased entirely （except， once again， in Chinese！）。 The array of written symbols themselves becomes totally abstract。 In many definite ways they become the new nature in which we exist。 Is it the laws of society that control us through language， or the laws of written language that controls us through society？ It’s hard to tell。Having become independent of speech， writing became a universal mark of social class and power。 Simply being human is the only requirement for speech。 Wealth， position， and education are necessary for writing。 Nothing about writing is natural。 It is the ultimate artifice， the primal human technology。 No matter how much writing describes， recounts， or even directs the world， it is not of the world but an entirely human convention about the world to create “An infinity of fictions， one layered atop the other。” And many of these fictions are meant to manipulate， constrain， and control。The undeciphered scripts analysed by Ferrara are actually evidence that we have no certainty about how writing emerged or when。 Her story is one of those infinity of fictions which writing itself promotes。 And it is a fiction with theological resonance。 In addition to being our fundamental technology， written language is also our fundamental religion。 It seems to have created itself ex nihilo， out of nothing。 We cannot imagine a world without it。 It keeps us safe and it oppresses us with complete impunity。 It is everywhere simultaneously and at every time and yet nowhere definite and timeless。 It is within us， around us， and totally separate from us in the manner of the Christian Trinity。 We trust it but we are wary of its capacity to deceive。 When we pray， we honour it。 When we recite a creed， we extol its power。 We worship it through education in the hope of a better， fairer， more peaceful life… or just to survive。We recognise not language itself but written language as the ultimate source of power。 It is the power of contracts， of the design specs for nuclear bombs， of worldwide literary culture。 And through science and engineering it is power over the natural world certainly， but also power over each other。 Those brought together by language compete against others bound through other languages。 Within each language ‘tribe’ we compete for power with each other， mainly the power over language itself in legislation， policy， rules of recognition and advancement。 Particularly in democracy， power is sought through the language of persuasion and promise and exercised in written laws， regulations and codes。The written word has become so dominant that we find it difficult to distinguish it from the natural world at all。 The Egyptians scratched out the written names of people and animals on graves and monuments to neutralise their threat。 The ancient Chinese created “flash fictions，” prophecies which gained credibility by being carved on turtle shells。 Hebrews and Christians published bogus biblical genealogies to establish royal lineages。 Isaac Newton devoted as much time to the arcane texts of alchemical magic as he did to his experiments in physics。 Randolph Hearst single-handedly sparked the American War against Spain through his newspapers。 And， of course， Donald Trump controls the American Republican Party， and Putin the Russian state through patent falsehoods via the internet， written words carried by the technologies built on and by previous written words。 So Ferrara is absolutely correct when she calls writing the greatest invention， or rather inventions since they were discovered independently in probably a half dozen places。 Arguably it is written language which is the sine qua non of what we mean by civilisation， the collecting together into cities。 And it written language that has enabled empires， industrial progress and vastly increased human numbers and longevity。 But it is also written language which may eventually eliminate our species either through mutual self-destruction or the destruction of the minimal conditions for human living。 Writing tears us apart as vigorously as it binds us together。 Bloody， bloody Babel。 。。。more
Maine Colonial
，
I received a free publisher's review copy， via Netgalley。A very long time ago， humans devised written language。 Not just once， but over and over again in vastly distant lands and different ways。 Ferrara studies the development of written language， and its sociological and historical importance。 Her key focus is on so-far undeciphered texts from places as far apart as Cyprus and Easter Island。Ferrara clearly knows her stuff， but her writing style is a little off-putting for me。 It’s sometimes den I received a free publisher's review copy， via Netgalley。A very long time ago， humans devised written language。 Not just once， but over and over again in vastly distant lands and different ways。 Ferrara studies the development of written language， and its sociological and historical importance。 Her key focus is on so-far undeciphered texts from places as far apart as Cyprus and Easter Island。Ferrara clearly knows her stuff， but her writing style is a little off-putting for me。 It’s sometimes dense （my fault for my not-too-impressive knowledge of linguistics）， sometimes hyperbolic， and often tangents all over the place without a clear organizing principle。 She says she tried to write in a conversational style， and she does， but a problem for me is that the book reads as if she gave a stream-of-consciousness lecture， had it typed up and that became the book。It’s still interesting and worth reading， but for me it wasn’t as gripping a tale as Margalit Fox’s The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code， about the deciphering of the Cretan Linear B。 Of course， they take different approaches， but I would suggest the Fox book if you are more interested in a tale of code-cracking than linguistics。 。。。more
James Beggarly
，
Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 This endlessly fascinating book studies the origins， the myths and the mysteries of the history of writing。 The author is a scholar in the field and her enthusiasm for the subject is infectious。 She shows how writing started in places like Mesopotamia， Crete， China， Egypt and others。 It’s extraordinary that there are some places that have a writing system for two thousand years only for it to die away。 Even more interesting are the few writings that sti Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 This endlessly fascinating book studies the origins， the myths and the mysteries of the history of writing。 The author is a scholar in the field and her enthusiasm for the subject is infectious。 She shows how writing started in places like Mesopotamia， Crete， China， Egypt and others。 It’s extraordinary that there are some places that have a writing system for two thousand years only for it to die away。 Even more interesting are the few writings that still haven’t been deciphered。 A great exploration into something we use everyday but forever take for granted。 。。。more
Caroline Beachum
，
This title was very intriguing for me- the greatest invention being writing？ Let's dive in。 Overall it was worth the read， but fell flat in several areas。 What I liked:- I enjoyed reading about the early civilizations of Mesoamerica， Egypt， and China， I teach these in my World History class and liked being able to dive deeper into the writing systems。 Particularly interesting to hear about how they all invented their writing system independent of each other。 -The author used a plethora of images This title was very intriguing for me- the greatest invention being writing？ Let's dive in。 Overall it was worth the read， but fell flat in several areas。 What I liked:- I enjoyed reading about the early civilizations of Mesoamerica， Egypt， and China， I teach these in my World History class and liked being able to dive deeper into the writing systems。 Particularly interesting to hear about how they all invented their writing system independent of each other。 -The author used a plethora of images- it was interesting to see the artifacts she was discussing throughly in the book。 What I didn't:-The author's writing style was very。。 interesting。 I gave a little grace because the book was not originally written in English。 But the more I read， the more I was convinced that the author intended to write in less of an academic style and more of a literary/narrative style。 It was really just distracting more than anything else。 -I also struggled with the organization of this book。 In the first chapters it seemed clear how the book would be laid out- the author was going to take us in depth to several different early civilizations and their "invention" of writing。 But as she did she would jump around topically and make references that were not clearly laid out。 Overall it was very disorganized。 。。。more
Anthony Zacharzewski
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Scattershot and hard to follow。 Interesting content but not well-presented。
J Earl
，
The Greatest Invention: A History of the World in Nine Mysterious Scripts by Silvia Ferrara and translated by Todd Portnowitz is a fun and informative romp through the history， but more so the importance， of writing。 This is a hybrid of sorts in that it does get into some detail and some specific terminology （though they are explained in a straightforward manner） but is presented rather informally。 Yes， it is meant for a popular readership but even aside from that the tone and flow is more like The Greatest Invention: A History of the World in Nine Mysterious Scripts by Silvia Ferrara and translated by Todd Portnowitz is a fun and informative romp through the history， but more so the importance， of writing。 This is a hybrid of sorts in that it does get into some detail and some specific terminology （though they are explained in a straightforward manner） but is presented rather informally。 Yes， it is meant for a popular readership but even aside from that the tone and flow is more like conversation （or a lecture as she states） rather than a tightly constructed argument。 I found it engaging but some may prefer something closer to the typical popular science book。 I didn't always catch the importance of what seemed like asides to me， but they did make me stop and think about how they might fit。 While I did usually make the connection， I think the more valuable benefit was that I actually had to think about what I was reading from a perspective other than my initial one。This is not a textbook so not every school of linguistic thought is going to be mentioned。 Nor should they be if they don't contribute to Ferrara's overall purpose。 If this were a book to teach us the details of every manuscript and language， maybe so。 But this is as much an argument for the value of the written word as it is a basic history。 If you want a plain history that shows how thought has developed over the years， there are a lot of textbooks for you。 If you want to feel the exuberance of a scholar for her subject， accompanied by interesting analogies and scientific facts， this may appeal to you。 Just know ahead of time that this is more like having someone tell you what they think， albeit an expert in the field， than reading an academic thesis。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Confuso
，
Cercate un libro sulla storia della scrittura？ Anche io！ E di sicuro non è questo。Illeggibile， scritto male， pieno zeppo di inutili ammiccamenti ai lettori。
Bandit
，
I’m the first to rate and review this book。 An objectively smart book I subjectively didn’t quite love。 But for the purposes of this review， I shall strive for objectivity。 I love historical nonfiction books told through objects。 I’ve read ones done through vehicles， guns （USA， of course）， etc。 At a glance， this book looked to be a perfect combination of that and linguistics， another interest of mine。 And so， it’s difficult to say why exactly it didn’t quite work for me， but let’s try… First of I’m the first to rate and review this book。 An objectively smart book I subjectively didn’t quite love。 But for the purposes of this review， I shall strive for objectivity。 I love historical nonfiction books told through objects。 I’ve read ones done through vehicles， guns （USA， of course）， etc。 At a glance， this book looked to be a perfect combination of that and linguistics， another interest of mine。 And so， it’s difficult to say why exactly it didn’t quite work for me， but let’s try… First off， it’s important to mention it’s likely not to be the book’s fault and you certainly can’t fault the author。 In fact， the writing here is good enough to qualify for literature…in fact， the author may have wanted to （or maybe ought to have） write a literary book instead of nonfiction。 Either way， the writing’s very good， very eloquent， engaging， all that。 But then， and perhaps because it’s so literary， it does its best to stay on topic， but constantly veers off in wildly discursive tangents。 It’s almost like it’s a book about a book about linguistics and manuscripts。 I admit， for me the manuscripts were the major draw， secret and otherwise， decipherable or not， they absolutely fascinate me。 And they are featured in the book， just not as prominently as I would have liked。 But the book really is more about writing itself， writing， according to the author （and it’s difficult to argue） is our greatest invention。 That’s the contention belabouredly asserted throughout the book。 Funny thing， it doesn’t feature anywhere near even the top ten of most polls on the subject， nowhere near the wheel， tv， internet， etc。 But then again， we don’t live in the smartest of times and so it’s easy to overlook the granddaddy of them all – the written word。 And yet， where would we be without it。 The author gets it， she’s an expert， what she doesn’t know about linguistics may not be worth knowing， and her passion for her subject certainly comes across and yet somehow the book was strangely underwhelming while overwritten。 It is， most likely， a personal author/reader chemistry thing and shouldn’t affect the enjoyment of others。 Overall， though it dragged at times， The Greatest Invention was still an enlightening and educational read， and one featuring an excellent amount of black and white photos and images to tell the additional thousands or words， and so worth the time。 Thanks Netgalley。This and more at https://advancetheplot。weebly。com/ 。。。more
Mancina
，
Affascinante e illuminante。 Un saggio "narrato" come una lunga coinvolgente conversazione sull'invenzione che ha rivoluzionato la storia umana e che dice molto sulle nostre potenzialità e sul nostro essere la specie che siamo。Se poi si aggiunge il fascino dei misteri ancora celati dalle scritture indecifrate e le storie dietro a quelle che già sono state decifrate， si ha un libro che è un vero piacere per cuore e mente。 Affascinante e illuminante。 Un saggio "narrato" come una lunga coinvolgente conversazione sull'invenzione che ha rivoluzionato la storia umana e che dice molto sulle nostre potenzialità e sul nostro essere la specie che siamo。Se poi si aggiunge il fascino dei misteri ancora celati dalle scritture indecifrate e le storie dietro a quelle che già sono state decifrate， si ha un libro che è un vero piacere per cuore e mente。 。。。more
Maurizio Boscolo
，
Un saggio che si legge come un romanzo。 Da quando esiste la scrittura？ O è sempre esistita？ Chi l'ha inventata？ Dove？ Come si è diffusa， se si è diffusa， sulla terra？ C'è un rapporto tra le nove scritture misteriose che l'Autrice ci porta a scoprire？Gli ingredienti per un thriller ci sarebbero e Silvia Ferrara， deposta la veste di professoressa universitaria， ci conduce mano nella mano all'interno del mondo affascinante della paleo-linguistica。 Ma non è un libro per studiosi o iniziati; anche， m Un saggio che si legge come un romanzo。 Da quando esiste la scrittura？ O è sempre esistita？ Chi l'ha inventata？ Dove？ Come si è diffusa， se si è diffusa， sulla terra？ C'è un rapporto tra le nove scritture misteriose che l'Autrice ci porta a scoprire？Gli ingredienti per un thriller ci sarebbero e Silvia Ferrara， deposta la veste di professoressa universitaria， ci conduce mano nella mano all'interno del mondo affascinante della paleo-linguistica。 Ma non è un libro per studiosi o iniziati; anche， ma non solo。 Che c'entrano la Champions League， i Pokemon， gli emoji con l'invenzione della scrittura？ C'entrano， eccome se c'entrano。 Lo scoprirete con stupore。Una bella prosa che non stanca e che， anzi， invoglia a percorrere questo affascinante sentiero。 。。。more
Karola Dahl
，
Neun geheimnisvolle Schriften allgemein verständlich vorgestellt - das Buch hat mich gefesselt。 Die Entschlüsselung bislang unbekannter Schriften wird auch dem Laien verständlich nahe gebracht， teils auch bebildert。 Dem Gedankengang der Autorin in ihrem populärwissenschaftlichen Stil ist leicht zu folgen， auch wenn sie Erkenntnisse aus Archäologie， Neurowissenschaft und Anthropologie verarbeitet。
Magali
，
J’ai lu cet ouvrage dans le cadre de recherches pour ma trilogie Bibliomancienne， mais aussi par intérêt pour le sujet。 En bonne amatrice de livres， l’histoire de l’écriture me passionne tout autant ！ ^^Le sommaire de ce livre s’avère touffu : Silvia Ferrara retrace toute l’histoire des écritures （oui， au pluriel， car différents systèmes d’écriture sont nés à différents endroits du globe， à des périodes plus ou moins similaires）， elle évoque des systèmes d’écriture demeurés indéchiffrés à ce jou J’ai lu cet ouvrage dans le cadre de recherches pour ma trilogie Bibliomancienne， mais aussi par intérêt pour le sujet。 En bonne amatrice de livres， l’histoire de l’écriture me passionne tout autant ！ ^^Le sommaire de ce livre s’avère touffu : Silvia Ferrara retrace toute l’histoire des écritures （oui， au pluriel， car différents systèmes d’écriture sont nés à différents endroits du globe， à des périodes plus ou moins similaires）， elle évoque des systèmes d’écriture demeurés indéchiffrés à ce jour， elle tente aussi de comprendre ce qui a pu mener à une telle invention – au regard de l’histoire de l’humanité， l’écriture est relativement récente et pourtant， on ne saurait imaginer le monde sans elle， à présent ！Très complet， La fabuleuse histoire de l’invention de l’écriture décrit également les démarches des déchiffreurs d’écriture， les étapes clés à suivre rigoureusement， et évoque les évolutions （ou non） de différents systèmes d’écriture jusqu’à nos emojis actuels。Vous vous dites que ça doit être ardu à lire ？ Eh bien， pas du tout ！ L’autrice nous décrit tout cela sur le ton de la conversation， si bien que j’ai lu l’ouvrage avec autant de plaisir qu’un roman ！ Pour ne rien gâcher， des illustrations en couleur ponctuent son propos。Si je connaissais déjà certains faits dévoilés， j’ai appris des choses en lisant ce chouette ouvrage ！ J’ai ainsi découvert l’écriture rongorongo de l’Île de Pâques， qui laisse encore les chercheurs perplexes， et l’histoire de la création par Sequoyah du syllabaire cherokee。 Appris comment les chercheurs procédaient pour décrypter une écriture。 Lu avec grand intérêt les différentes raisons avancées par Silvia Ferrara pour expliquer l’invention de cette merveilleuse chose qu’est l’écriture et ce， au fil des siècles。 Car de nouveaux systèmes d’écriture sont apparus au fil du temps， en divers pays et circonstances。Une merveilleuse invention， que l’écriture en effet， car si elle n’existait pas， ce blog non plus， pas plus que le livre que je chronique…Pour résumé， si le sujet vous intéresse – que ce soit de près ou de loin – vous trouverez dans La fabuleuse histoire de l’invention de l’écriture tout ce qu’il y a à savoir sur le sujet， dans un style très accessible et par une autrice de toute évidence passionnée par son sujet ！ 。。。more
Daniele Bergesio
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Meh。 Al momento è la maggiore delusione tra le letture di quest'anno。 Non so da dove cominciare per spiegarlo。。。 innanzitutto， "storia del mondo" proprio no， anzi。 Le nove scritture misteriose sono frammenti， quasi frattaglie， cinque o sei pagine e poi via che si prosegue， quasi senza contesto di alcun tipo。 Nulla viene neanche lontanamente approfondito， nulla viene spiegato， tutto resta sospeso in una superficialità che d'accordo non perdersi in tecnicismi， ma davvero è necessario dilungarsi in Meh。 Al momento è la maggiore delusione tra le letture di quest'anno。 Non so da dove cominciare per spiegarlo。。。 innanzitutto， "storia del mondo" proprio no， anzi。 Le nove scritture misteriose sono frammenti， quasi frattaglie， cinque o sei pagine e poi via che si prosegue， quasi senza contesto di alcun tipo。 Nulla viene neanche lontanamente approfondito， nulla viene spiegato， tutto resta sospeso in una superficialità che d'accordo non perdersi in tecnicismi， ma davvero è necessario dilungarsi in paragoni idioti per pagine intere （su tutti il cipro-minoico e il sorteggio di Champion's League per tre pagine， con foto dei bussolotti a forma di pallone da calcio: ma seriamente？） e tirar via concetti， termini tecnici， connessioni， teorie？ Ho trovato "ma lo vedremo più avanti" fino a pagina 196 （！）， per un libro di reali 251 pagine: mi pare un record。E poi lo stile。 Da un certo punto in poi ho cominciato a leggerlo saltando cinque o sei righe ogni volta che l'autrice usciva dal seminato gigioneggiando tra burle， accostamenti， considerazioni inutili （Ok， Bardem è un bell'uomo， dirlo in un libro sulla storia delle scritture non mi mette di buonumore - soprattutto se per contro i contenuti latitano）。 Mettiamola così: ci sono cose che non dovrebbero essere dette con troppo parlarsi addosso， altrimenti il lettore si annoia。 Pensate ripetere questi concetti per più volte， magari di seguito。 Annoiare chi sta seguendo il filo del discorso con inutili sproloqui che riempiono la pagina di nulla， continui monologhi in cui si ribadisce sostanzialmente quello che basterebbero poche parole a。。。 ecco， ci siamo capiti。 È tutto così。 TUTTO。 COSÌ。Non ho imparato praticamente nulla， non mi sono divertito， ho la sensazione di aver buttato via tempo， spazio nella memoria e diciannove euro。No， proprio no。 Che peccato。 。。。more
Martinsmarties
，
Premettendo che come linguista e traduttrice magari mi aspettavo di più a livello di contenuti， non lo consiglierei neanche a chi si approccia per la prima volta all'argomento: superficiale e confuso， con uno stile di scrittura che， nell'intento di essere accessibile， diventa fastidioso。 Premettendo che come linguista e traduttrice magari mi aspettavo di più a livello di contenuti， non lo consiglierei neanche a chi si approccia per la prima volta all'argomento: superficiale e confuso， con uno stile di scrittura che， nell'intento di essere accessibile， diventa fastidioso。 。。。more
Liquidambar
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NO， NO E ANCORA NO。Questo libro non si salva sotto nessun aspetto:- Impaginato malissimo， sembra la mia tesi di triennale rilegata alla bell'e meglio。 Sinceramente， non capisco perché una casa editrice come la Feltrinelli abbia optato per questo look amatoriale， con immagini dai colori talmente saturi da non distinguere granché i dettagli。- Stile orrendo e inconcludente: l'autrice ci preme a dire che ha "voluto che questo libro uscisse così， come dettato ad alta voce"。 E probabilmente non ha nea NO， NO E ANCORA NO。Questo libro non si salva sotto nessun aspetto:- Impaginato malissimo， sembra la mia tesi di triennale rilegata alla bell'e meglio。 Sinceramente， non capisco perché una casa editrice come la Feltrinelli abbia optato per questo look amatoriale， con immagini dai colori talmente saturi da non distinguere granché i dettagli。- Stile orrendo e inconcludente: l'autrice ci preme a dire che ha "voluto che questo libro uscisse così， come dettato ad alta voce"。 E probabilmente non ha neanche più riguardato le bozze prima di consegnarle all'editore， che di sicuro non gli ha dato nemmeno un'occhiata。 Il risultato è una narrazione del tutto sconclusionata， che sembra il commento al powerpoint proiettato ad una lezione per un pubblico generico， che va mantenuto attento con digressioni e commentini。 Un sacco di aneddoti slegati， citazioni random di film e pop culture， lessico specifico buttato nel testo solo per dimostrare che l'autrice se ne intende， e poi generalizzazioni e banalizzazioni indicibili。 L'esempio è il paragrafo all'insegna del "mia nonna diceva" （scusa， tua nonna era un'antropologa？， altrimenti non vedo come la sua opinione sia rilevante）， contro il paragrafo di descrizione super specifica incorniciato da [inizio digressione linguistica] e [fine digressione linguistica]， come se non avessi acquistato un libro appositamente per saperne di più。Poi ci sono anche battute da quindicenni: l'autrice deve specificare che parlando di egizi， la parola "canna" è sinonimo di "giunco"， oppure il giudizio sul livello di sex appeal di ogni attore maschio menzionato， ovvero Jack Nicholson （irresistibile）， Javier Bardem （irriconoscibile）。Oppure il ragionamento che si conclude con "Per me questo è interessante tanto quanto fissare la lavatrice"。 E quindi？ Lo trova alienante， interessante， fastidioso。。。？ La scienza non ha risposte。Da un punto di vista formale， ci sono un sacco di discrepanze o scelte stilistiche dubbie: tutte le parole in lingua straniera sono scritte in corsivo， tranne quando si tratta dell'inglese， che viene trattato alla stregua di un lessico extra per l'italiano （perché， si sappia， l'autrice ha lavorato tantissimi anni all'estero）: i mobili cheap Ikea （troppo ardito usare 'economico'？）， termini specifici sono usati tradotti in varie lingue （'abugida' in un capitolo， 'abjad' in una nota）， divisione di composti che sono formalmente scritti come una parola sola （'tele-trasporto' anziché il comunissimo 'teletrasporto'）， traduzione delle parole citate senza nessun segno distintivo （di solito si usano le virgolette per capire di che parola si tratta）， ma alla trascrizione fonetica nelle // non si rinuncia， però。- Per quanto riguarda i contenuti， non ci siamo。 Zero。 Non è nemmeno chiaro di cosa voglia trattare， se di storia della scrittura， paleografia， antropologia， lista di lingue non ancora decifrate。 M'intendo alquanto degli argomenti proposti， tanto da notare l'assenza nella bibliografia di tutta la scuola "tedesca"， e l'autrice è riuscita nel compito difficile di confondermi， di farmi dubitare che si stesse parlando di una certa cosa。 Spiacevolissimo è il fatto che ogni tot capitoli debba sponsorizzare il suo progetto finanziato all'UE， il progetto INSCRIBE， come per giustificare il senso di questo libro。 Non ha senso， perché se questo libro dovrebbe dare lustro a questa equipe di studiosi， be'， direi che il risultato è addirittura l'opposto。 Il fatto poi che si soffermi per pagine e pagine su cavolate， su riflessioni di contorno che vengono gonfiate in maniera inverosimile a suon di metafore trite e battutine， anziché spiegare alcuni concetti fondamentali per seguire la discussione è indecente: per spiegare la similitudine tra reperti antichi greci e le palline del sorteggio della Champions ci ha messo due pagine e due immagini a colori， invece per spiegare la struttura basilare della sillaba non ci ha pensato， seminando nomi come 'rima' e 'coda' come se fosse conoscenza comune。 Idem per l'uso di logogramma/ideogramma， la cui differenza non si risolve leggendo il significato del lemma sul dizionario。 Vogliamo concludere il tour con una perla dell'autrice？ Cito: "Il risultato di questo esperimento è che， quasi senza accorgermene， ho scansato la cosa di cui stavo scrivendo" 。 Non so gli altri， ma per me che l'autrice abbia pubblicato un libro con la consapevolezza di aver imbrattato carta a vanvera mi manda in bestia。 。。。more
Gianfranco De Stefano
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Con uno stile “orale”， che ricorda le sbobinature delle lezioni all’università （non a caso l’autrice è professoressa ordinaria）， Silvia Ferrara ci racconta il mondo della scrittura a 360 gradi per non addetti ai lavori。 Con il libro possiamo， come i suoi studenti， farci raccontare delle scritture ancora indecifrate， delle scritture “inventate da zero” （da popoli antichi o da più moderni intellettuali）， dell’arte della decifrazione， senza dimenticare la prospettiva antropologica su come la scritt Con uno stile “orale”， che ricorda le sbobinature delle lezioni all’università （non a caso l’autrice è professoressa ordinaria）， Silvia Ferrara ci racconta il mondo della scrittura a 360 gradi per non addetti ai lavori。 Con il libro possiamo， come i suoi studenti， farci raccontare delle scritture ancora indecifrate， delle scritture “inventate da zero” （da popoli antichi o da più moderni intellettuali）， dell’arte della decifrazione， senza dimenticare la prospettiva antropologica su come la scrittura abbia cambiato l’uomo， e la prospettiva neurobiologica su come l’uomo abbia potuto inventare （o scoprire？） la scrittura。 。。。more
Rosanna
，
La lettura di questo libro è resa snervante da uno stile che secondo le intenzioni della Ferrara avrebbe dovuto catturare il lettore， ma che in realtà è un insulto ad ogni persona dotata di un quoziente intellettivo nella norma。 Per realizzare un testo divulgativo non è necessario semplificare l'argomento fino a ridicolizzarlo。 Ci sono tanti， meravigliosi testi - accessibili anche ai non addetti ai lavori - che non per questo rinunciano all'esattezza dell'esposizione e al rigore scientifico （i l La lettura di questo libro è resa snervante da uno stile che secondo le intenzioni della Ferrara avrebbe dovuto catturare il lettore， ma che in realtà è un insulto ad ogni persona dotata di un quoziente intellettivo nella norma。 Per realizzare un testo divulgativo non è necessario semplificare l'argomento fino a ridicolizzarlo。 Ci sono tanti， meravigliosi testi - accessibili anche ai non addetti ai lavori - che non per questo rinunciano all'esattezza dell'esposizione e al rigore scientifico （i lavori di Harari e Diamond， ad esempio）。 L'esposizione della Ferrara è invece confusionaria e contraddittoria， oltre che banale。 All'inizio del libro la scrittura viene presentata come una delle più grandi invenzioni della storia dell'umanità， si arriva poi a fine lettura e si resta spiazzati nell'apprendere che l'autrice ha cambiato idea， dal momento che no， non è vero， la scrittura non è poi così necessaria， l'uomo poteva addirittura farne a meno （spoiler: no， in nessuna società realmente complessa si può fare a meno di un sistema di scrittura）。 Un libro inconcludente， scritto e pensato male， pretenzioso pur nella sua banalità。 La vita è decisamente troppo breve per sprecarla ad affrontare letture del genere， se non altro mi consolo pensando al tempo che ha l'autrice ha buttato via per scriverlo。 。。。more
C。 M。 Dree
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