So I’m writing this to address a false dichotomy: the oral vs. Literate culture.
Yeah.
No difference.
It starts with understanding how the mind works and for that, you need to step back for a moment.
Mind Your Step
I’m going with metaphors here because it makes it easy.
Basic genetic code hardwires life forms to do things. For every action, there is a reaction. Any life that persists for any length of time incorporats a lot of ‘junk DNA’ in it; these are bits and fragments that only turn on when the situation changes.
That’s how they adapt. Gobble up / get infected with some new DNA stuff and keep it around long enough for it to be useful OR have a random mutation.
Changes at this level are considered epigenetic, at best. They are the deep troughs in the ocean of intelligences, stable and unlikely to change.