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I don't think that was their point. If you went to a bank in the 1940s and made a withdrawal, they wouldn't pull your account slip, erase the balance, and write
by anamexis 4y ago
I don't think that was their point. If you went to a bank in the 1940s and made a withdrawal, they wouldn't pull your account slip, erase the balance, and write in the new one. They would add a new line to the ledger noting a new balance. This is by design.
- WalterBright 4y agoDouble-entry bookkeeping was a great advance.
- ezekiel68 4y agoAnd -- in keeping with the flow of this thread -- a complete luxury until the implements (paper/pens/tape/disk/silicon) would become abundant and ubiquitous.
- WalterBright 4y agoPaper and ink were good enough for centuries.
- dTal 4y agoPaper especially was very expensive until approximately the 19th century.
- WalterBright 4y agoThe explosive growth in the printing industry suggests otherwise.
- ezekiel68 4y agoWe are simply pointing out there was a time when the surface one could write on was so precious, people used to cover previous works and re-use it instead of obtaining new ones (vellum, etc). So -- you're not wrong about the explosive growth. We're just pointing out the abundance of even writing instruments occurred at a certain point in history.