Link to twitter thread here.
So today’s been a real stressful day since Eid is tomorrow (technically today its AM right now) and I have an essay due the day after aswell as exams in the few days.
I am stressing the hell out on how I can make a coherent argument in my essay dealing with world-systems theory, eurocentrism and use of “networks” and flows in viewing the history of globalisation but reading the twitter thread made me realise,
even if I fail at writing anything coherent it will never be as embarassing as any takes anarchist twitter has 💀
Reading and writing are advanced forms of communication. It is Communication that is 1) asynchronous: the listener doesn’t have to listen at the same time the speaker speaks. Written communications have survived millenias. 2) does not have to be memorized in the human mind. It can always be referred back to rather than burdening our brains with remembering it.
This greatly enhances the potential audience the communication can reach. It allows for the communication to be repeated (read multiple times). It allows it to be delivered with high accuracy (rather than relying on memory and passing down through generations). It gives the author confidence in communicating bigger and longer ideas.
This is why literacy was something the ruling class kept away from people for many centuries. Illiteracy was a tool of subjugation. Knowledge is power.