Check the definition of clerk. Written exams were the method for selecting good clerks, and that's what's come to dominate. Now think how things were done befo

Check the definition of clerk. Written exams were the method for selecting good clerks, and that's what's come to dominate. Now think how things were done before there were written exams, and before it was practical to keep thorough records of just about everything. Different worldviews. And ours now is shaped by clerks.