In the time of Jesus of Nazareth, there was literacy, but not much paper, (or vellum). The memory function is not made stronger by books. Jesus hid the Torah and the prophets in his heart. And from the other authors of the New Testament and even Christ's enemies - everyone more or less remembered what the Word of God said.
The demise of paper has been predicted and a trend is in place but, yes, the process is still ongoing and it is not completely dead. From the retelling of your history and experience I sense your angst. I think it interesting to see it in context of why we have paper in the first place. How do I put this in words? If we, at this time in history, had mental vigor and retention we would not need paper or other physical devices to help with the processes necessary to get things done. Technology is not yet able to substitute for paper and mental ability is flagging.
In the time of Jesus of Nazareth, there was literacy, but not much paper, (or vellum). The memory function is not made stronger by books. Jesus hid the Torah and the prophets in his heart. And from the other authors of the New Testament and even Christ's enemies - everyone more or less remembered what the Word of God said.
The demise of paper has been predicted and a trend is in place but, yes, the process is still ongoing and it is not completely dead. From the retelling of your history and experience I sense your angst. I think it interesting to see it in context of why we have paper in the first place. How do I put this in words? If we, at this time in history, had mental vigor and retention we would not need paper or other physical devices to help with the processes necessary to get things done. Technology is not yet able to substitute for paper and mental ability is flagging.