One of the truisms of Western history is that a German guy named Gutenberg invented the printing press, changing the course of civilization forever. There is no doubt that Gutenberg's printing press was a novel technology. But to say that he invented the printing press is like saying Steve Jobs or Bill Gates invented the computer. He certainly made it a commercially available device, but Gutenberg
![Printed books existed nearly 600 years before Gutenberg's Bible](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/d90423b487c5e363e38b807fbd8dd9c77f096fc1/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fi.kinja-img.com%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fc_fill%2Ch_675%2Cpg_1%2Cq_80%2Cw_1200%2F197xrjaz7466rpng.png)