It would be lovely to imagine that writing came out of some instinct to compose works of great literature, says Jonn Elledge. It absolutely didn't. Once ten thousand people live in one place you need a granary, a record of what is in it, and laws against raiding it — and out of the ledger come mathematics, literacy, politics and eventually literature.
Full episode: https://youtu.be/PmixA8NmojQ