Oral culture distributes knowledge more evenly than printed literacy

Evidence

Printing so obviously makes knowledge accessible to all that we are inclined to forget it also makes knowledge easy to avoid. A shepherd in an Icelandic homestead … could not avoid spending his evenings listening to the kind of literature which interested the farmer. The result was a degree of really national culture, such as no nation of today has been able to achieve. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 642

Categorization

• XREF: Supports the earlier learned claim that the oral tradition cannot be easily monopolized. — connects to: Uneven participation in written tradition produces instability and inconsistency — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 639; Oral transmission yields more internally consistent traditions than written transmission — Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication, 664; True knowledge requires oral dialogue, not mere reading — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 639 (+4 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 642

Broader Connections

• Oral transmission yields more internally consistent traditions than written transmission #qualifies (0.60) — Harold Innis, The Bias of Communication, 664
• True knowledge requires oral dialogue, not mere reading #expands (0.50) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 639
• Communication technology shapes culture through interests, symbols, and community #expands (0.40) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 622