For instance, it's only a categorical convention that we have five senses. This was hardly surprising, because the apparent implication that some people are intellectually inferior has alarming political potential. Binary accounts have been referred to as ' Great Divide ' theories . Such theories tend to suggest radical, deep and basic differences between modes of thinking in non-literate and literate societies. They are often associated with attempts to develop grand theories of social organization and development.
Dualities are prominent in the commentaries of structuralist theorists.
Like any form of simplification they can be interpretatively illuminating. However, the sharp division of historical continuity into periods 'before' and 'after' a technological innovation such as writing assumes the determinist notion of the primacy of 'revolutions' in communication technology. And differences tend to be exaggerated. Goody argues that 'general' rather than radical differences still exist between non-literate and literate cultures which are greater than the differences one may find between various literate practices. Another reaction to criticisms of a great divide is offered by David Olson and Angela Hildyard.