During the early modern period, and especially during the years 1550-1750,
Europe experienced a kind of "information explosion." I emphasize the word
"experience" as this is an essential element to the arguments presented
here. There is ample evidence to demonstrate that during this period, the
production, circulation, and dissemination of scientific and scholarly
texts accelerated tremendously. In her essay, Ann Blair notes that over
the course of this period, a typical scholarly library might have grown
by a factor of fifty, while Brian Ogilvie demonstrates an equivalent
acceleration in the production and consumption of texts in the domain
of natural history; and there is a large literature to back both of
these arguments up. But the fact of accelerated textual production and
consumption is not what is principally at issue here. What is essential
is the sense that such a phenomenon was taking place and the variety of
responses to it.
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