Humans have used speech for communication since Adam and Eve discussed the pros and cons of eating fruit from a specific tree. Face to face speech remains an excellent way of exchanging ideas and passing along information to this day.
Face to face isn’t always possible. Written language gave communication a big boost. Especially when paper and ink came along. Instructions and thoughts, even poetry and stories, could be sent long distances. You can still do this today. Some people call it “snail mail”.
The telegraph enabled messages to be sent long distances in a short time. You needed special equipment and a knowledge of Morse Code, but the advantages were worth the investment.
Next, the telephone eliminated the need to learn Morse Code. Anyone could speak on the phone. And for more than a century the method was refined, improved, and extended to include more and more of the population.
Modern communication — voice and data and photos and even this blog — travel fast along wires, and fiber, and leap through the air. Special equipment is required but it’s changed greatly from the telegraph key at each end of a wire.
