By akademiotoelektronik, 03/11/2022

Monks, a polymath and an invention made by two people at the same time. It's all in the history of the index

Eight centuries ago, the need for a way to collect and organize the contents of a book was so great that two people, in two different cities, came up with a solution – at the same time.

The index, that thing tucked away discreetly at the end of a book was – and still is – essential, says Dennis Duncan, writer, translator and professor of English at University College London.

If you're using Google, you're one of many "in the age of search" who "rely on some kind of index," he explains ABC RN's Late Night Live.

“It is the index that underpins the search engine…we constantly rely on indexes.”

We can thank some monks, an avid reader, and the rise of two different types of discourse for its existence.

Table of Contents

A team of brothers and thousands of notes

It was about 800 years ago, in 1230, that the index was invented. Twice.

Simultaneously in Paris and Oxford, two people, with different motivations, were dwelling on an idea that would greatly facilitate their work.

In Paris, an abbot named Hugues de Saint-Cher commissioned a group of brothers from the Dominican convent of Saint-Jacques, who were “essentially surrounded” to work on his invention, says Dr Duncan.

Indexes allowed people to “put these pieces together in new combinations”.

Human vs computer – which index is better?

At the end of Dr Duncan's book on the subject, Index, A History Of The, he includes not one but two indexes, in order to make a point.

One of the indexes is produced using contemporary artificial intelligence indexing software.

The other is produced by a human, Paula Clarke Bain, a professional indexer with the UK Society of Indexers.

“His is so much better, so much better,” says Dr. Duncan.

“It’s funny. It's useful. Clever. He can name things that I don't name in the book.”

The man-made index has nuances and subtext that the computer version simply cannot reach, he says.

“I really wanted to show that computers are useful for certain types of indexing, like for example the Google index or when we go through a document with 'control' and 'F'.

"That's great, but I don't think it can index your book yet, because that's far from what a good index can do."

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