Orality and Literacy (1)- Alex Smalley

While class presentations were being done from Ong's Orality and Literacy, the orality-literacy shift was quite common throughout the book. This shift intrigues me in that so much of the oral stories is lost when being transferred to writing. It makes me wonder about how much of the oral stories have actually been lost. How would some stories and histories differ from what we know today if none of the information or plot line was lost? The entire oral experience must be vastly different from that of a literary one. I understand the shift is important for the further development of our society, being able to have most things in writing is very important in spreading information. It would be interesting to see the world today if the shift from orality to literacy never took place.