Phoenicians, who supplied these materials, had to search farther
and farther for them, using better tools to find and preprocess
the minerals. The involvement of writing and drawing in the
process of compensation between perceived needs and available
resources, and the fact that searches for new resources led to
the dissemination of writing and craftsmanship should be
understood within the dynamics of local economies.
Up to which point such a compensatory action, implying literacy
and engineering skills, is effective, and when it reached its
climax, possibly during the Industrial Revolution, is a question
that can be put only in retrospect. Is there a moment when the
balance was tilted towards the means of expression of and the
communication specific to engineering? If yes, we do not know
this moment; we cannot identify it on historic charts. But once
the potential of literacy to support human practical experiences
of self- constitution in a new pragmatic framework was exhausted,
new means became necessary. To understand the dynamics of the
changes that made the new pragmatic framework of the
civilization of illiteracy necessary is the object of the entire
book. While engineering contributed to them, they are not the
result of this important practical experience, but rather a
cause of how it was and is affected by them. The stream of
diversified experiences that eventually gushed forth through new
languages, the language of design and engineering included,
resulted in the awareness of mediation, which itself became a
goal.
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