---
title: "1 Alphabet Invented Quotes By James Gleick"
description: "1 Alphabet Invented quotes by James Gleick. Plus more from James Gleick and more Alphabet Invented sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/james-gleick-2623_writing_the-writing-system-at-the-opposite-extre_1202169.jpg"
---

> [“The writing system at the opposite extreme took the longest to emerge: the alphabet, one symbol for one minimal sound. The alphabet is the most reductive, the most subversive of all scripts. In all the languages of earth there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-writing-system-at-the-opposite-extreme-took-the-longest-to-emerge/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/james-gleick-2623_writing_the-writing-system-at-the-opposite-extre_1202169.jpg)

## More by James Gleick

> [When the Lilliputians first saw Gulliver's watch, that "wonderful kind of engine...a globe, half silver and half of some transparent metal," they identified it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/when-the-lilliputians-first-saw-gulliver-s-watch-that-wonderful-kind/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-know-entropy-is-associated-thermodynamically-in-systems-involving/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [“No one has even a definitive spelling for Cawdrey’s name (Cowdrey, Cawdry). But then, no one agreed on the spelling of most names: they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/no-one-has-even-a-definitive-spelling-for-cawdrey-s-name-cowdrey/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [“Where, then, is any particular gene—say, the gene for long legs in humans? This is a little like asking where is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/where-then-is-any-particular-gene-say-the-gene-for-long-legs-in/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [Alphabetical order had to be invented to help people organize the first dictionaries. On the other hand, we may have reached a point where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/alphabetical-order-had-to-be-invented-to-help-people-organize-the/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [As a technology, the book is like a hammer. That is to say, it is perfect: a tool ideally suited to its task. Hammers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/as-a-technology-the-book-is-like-a-hammer-that-is-to-say-it-is/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [The universe is computing its own destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-universe-is-computing-its-own-destiny/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [A book is not necessarily made of paper. A book is not necessarily made to be read on a Kindle. A book is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/a-book-is-not-necessarily-made-of-paper-a-book-is-not-necessarily/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [“From this point of view, the laws of science represent data compression in action. A theoretical physicist acts like a very clever coding algorithm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/from-this-point-of-view-the-laws-of-science-represent-data/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [Children and scientists share an outlook on life. If I do this, what will happen? is both the motto of the child at play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/children-and-scientists-share-an-outlook-on-life-if-i-do-this-what/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [“Your body moves always in the present, the dividing line between the past and the future, but your mind is more free. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/your-body-moves-always-in-the-present-the-dividing-line-between-the/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [People worry about Twitter. Twitter is banal. It's 140-character messages. By definition, you can hardly say anything profound. On the other hand, we communicate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/people-worry-about-twitter-twitter-is-banal-it-s-140-character/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [“The Difference Engine stands—for a replica works today, in the Science Museum in London—as a milestone of what could be achieved in precision engineering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-difference-engine-stands-for-a-replica-works-today-in-the-science/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [It is significant that one says book lover and music lover and art lover but not record lover or CD lover or, conversely, text…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/it-is-significant-that-one-says-book-lover-and-music-lover-and-art/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

> [“quoting Tolstoy: “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/quoting-tolstoy-i-know-that-most-men-including-those-at-ease-with/)

[James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/)

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