Paragraph 1

"I used a smartphone GPS to find my way through the cobblestoned maze of Geneva’s Old Town, in search of a handmade machine that changed the world more than any other invention."

Explanation: The author used their smartphone's GPS to navigate the winding streets of Geneva's Old Town while looking for an important historical invention.

"Near a 13th-century cathedral in this Swiss city on the shores of a lovely lake, I found what I was looking for: a Gutenberg printing press."

Explanation: Close to an old cathedral in Geneva, the author located the Gutenberg printing press, the invention they were seeking.

"‘This was the Internet of its day — at least as influential as the iPhone,’ said Gabriel de Montmollin, the director of the Museum of the Reformation, toying with the replica of Johann Gutenberg’s great invention."

Explanation: Gabriel de Montmollin, a museum director, compared the printing press to today’s Internet or iPhone in terms of influence, while handling a replica of the device.

Paragraph 2

"[Before the invention of the printing press] it used to take four monks up to a year to produce a single book."

Explanation: Before the printing press, copying a book was extremely slow, taking four monks an entire year to complete one.

"With the advance in movable type in 15th-century Europe, one press could crank out 3,000 pages a day."

Explanation: After the invention of movable type, printing became much faster — a single press could print 3,000 pages daily.

"Before long, average people could travel to places that used to be unknown to them — with maps!"

Explanation: The widespread availability of printed maps enabled ordinary people to explore new places.

"Medical information passed more freely and quickly, diminishing the sway of quacks."

Explanation: Medical knowledge spread faster through printed material, reducing the influence of dishonest or unqualified practitioners.

"The printing press offered the prospect that tyrants would never be able to kill a book or suppress an idea."

Explanation: The press made it hard for rulers to censor information or suppress ideas permanently.

"Gutenberg's brainchild broke the monopoly that clerics had on scripture."

Explanation: The printing press made religious texts accessible to more people, ending the clergy’s exclusive control over them.

"And later, stirred by pamphlets from a version of that same press, the American colonies rose up against a king and gave birth to a nation."

Explanation: Printed pamphlets inspired revolutionary ideas, helping American colonies fight for independence.

Paragraph 3

"So, a question in the summer of this 10th anniversary of the iPhone: has the device that is perhaps the most revolutionary of all time given us a single magnificent idea?"

Explanation: On the iPhone's 10th anniversary, the author wonders if the device has produced any truly groundbreaking ideas.

"Nearly every advancement of the written word through new technology has also advanced humankind."

Explanation: Historically, technological progress in how we write and share words has often improved human civilization.

"Sure, you can say the iPhone changed everything."

Explanation: It’s undeniable that the iPhone had a massive impact.

"By putting the world's recorded knowledge in the palm of a hand, it revolutionized work dining, travel and socializing."

Explanation: The iPhone provided easy access to information, transforming how people work, eat, travel, and connect.

"It made us more narcissistic — here's more of me doing cool stuff — and it unleashed an army of awful trolls."

Explanation: The iPhone and social media boosted self-obsession and led to widespread online bullying.

"We no longer have the patience to sit through a baseball game without that reach to the pocket."

Explanation: People are now addicted to checking their phones constantly, even during slow events like baseball games.

"And one more casualty of Apple selling more than a billion phones in a decade's time: daydreaming has become a lost art."

Explanation: Constant phone use has left little room for quiet reflection or imagination.

Paragraph 4

"For all of that, I'm still waiting to see if the iPhone can do what the printing press did for religion and democracy."

Explanation: Despite its influence, the author doubts whether the iPhone has had as profound an impact on major social movements as the printing press did.

"The Geneva museum makes a strong case that the printing press opened more minds than anything else…"

Explanation: The museum argues that the printing press had a greater role in spreading ideas and awareness than any other invention.

"…it's hard to imagine the French or American revolutions without those enlightened voices in print."

Explanation: The writer emphasizes that revolutionary movements heavily relied on printed ideas and writings.

Paragraph 5

"Not long after Steve Jobs introduced his iPhone, he said the bound book was probably headed for history's attic."

Explanation: Soon after the iPhone launch, Steve Jobs suggested that printed books might become obsolete.

"Not so fast."

Explanation: The author disagrees with that prediction.

"After a period of rapid growth in e-books, something closer to the medium for Chaucer's volumes has made a great comeback."

Explanation: Despite e-book popularity, traditional print books (like those from Chaucer’s time) have regained popularity.

Paragraph 6

"The hope of the iPhone, and the Internet in general, was that it would free people in closed societies."

Explanation: The expectation was that digital tools like the iPhone would help liberate those in oppressive regimes.

"But the failure of the Arab Spring and the continued suppression of ideas in North Korea, China and Iran, has not borne that out."

Explanation: Events like the failed Arab Spring and ongoing censorship in certain countries show that the iPhone hasn’t fulfilled that hope.

"The iPhone is still young."

Explanation: There is still time for the iPhone to prove its potential.

"It has certainly been one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history, as Apple C.E.O. Tim Cook said."

Explanation: According to Tim Cook, the iPhone has undeniably changed the world and been a major success.

"But I'm not sure if the world changed for the better with the iPhone — as it did with the printing press — or merely changed."

Explanation: The author questions whether the iPhone has improved humanity or just altered it without making it better.

Paragraph 1 Summary

The author describes using modern GPS technology to find a historical artifact — a Gutenberg press in Geneva — and reflects on its significance, with a museum director comparing its influence to that of the iPhone.

Paragraph 2 Summary

This paragraph highlights the revolutionary impact of the printing press, from drastically increasing the speed of book production to democratizing information, challenging authority, and fueling political revolutions.

Paragraph 3 Summary

Marking the iPhone’s 10th anniversary, the author examines its influence — praising its connectivity but criticizing its role in promoting narcissism, impatience, and the loss of imagination.

Paragraph 4 Summary

The author doubts whether the iPhone has sparked major societal changes like the printing press did, which was central to movements such as the French and American revolutions.

Paragraph 5 Summary

Despite predictions that printed books would vanish after the iPhone and e-book rise, traditional books have resurged, proving resilient in the digital age.

Paragraph 6 Summary

While the iPhone was expected to bring freedom to oppressed societies, that dream hasn’t come true. The author acknowledges the iPhone's importance but questions whether its effects have truly been positive.