Gutenberg, the Internet and Luther
In 1439 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, which revolutionized the 'making' of books and the dissemination of knowledge. Before Gutenberg and his invention, knowledge was generally a monopoly of the Catholic Church. Books were handwritten and copied by hand by monks in Catholic Monasteries. Gutenberg's technology was instrumental in breaking up that monopoly.
But what about content, i.e. new ideas, that would change the world? This is where Luther comes in. Martin Luther initiated the Protestant revolution, when he published his 95 theses in 1517. Thanks to Gutenberg's printing press his theses were quickly printed, copied and distributed throughout Germany and Europe. Luther's excommunication by the pope in 1521 could not stop the movement. The 95 theses and Luther's translation of the Bible into German not only had an incredible impact on German culture, the development of a 'new' church effectively broke the monopoly of the Catholic Church. Gutenberg's invention allowed Luther's vision to develop into an international movement very quickly. Could Luther have succeeded without Gutenberg? What would have happened, if the Catholic Church would have taken over Gutenberg's invention? We need great thinkers and their visions to light the fire and we need technologies to spread that fire. That was true yesterday, it is true today and it will be true tomorrow.