Editing 1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

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|Ancient {{w|literature}}
 
|Ancient {{w|literature}}
 
|As above, with Shakespeare plays, original or print reproductions would be the size of a book, typically.  Although ancient {{w|scrolls}} may have different dimensions with similar total volume.
 
|As above, with Shakespeare plays, original or print reproductions would be the size of a book, typically.  Although ancient {{w|scrolls}} may have different dimensions with similar total volume.
|Because of the high number of {{w|lost works}}, it is hard to have a solid estimate of the number, although rough lists have been made (e.g. {{w|Ancient literature#List of ancient texts}}).
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|Because of the high number of {{w|lost work}}, it is hard to have a solid estimate of the number, although rough lists have been made (e.g. {{w|Ancient literature#List of ancient texts}}).
 
|While it is fairly straightforward to look up how many books [http://www.proquest.com/products-services/Books-in-Print.html are currently in print], or how many books [https://mashable.com/2010/08/05/number-of-books-in-the-world/ all currently printed information would fit into if bound into equal-length volumes], and then limiting those estimates to those that date before a specific year, counting how many books from the period of interest haven't survived to the present day (books that were "{{w|lost work|lost}}" either by deliberate discontinuation, or accidental destruction such as in the {{w|Destruction of the Library of Alexandria|Library of Alexandria}}) is a bit more difficult. However, because we know the work existed (it is mentioned by name in some other text), we have "pretty good estimate" that the number of lost works is "only" in the tens of thousands, as is the number of surviving works.
 
|While it is fairly straightforward to look up how many books [http://www.proquest.com/products-services/Books-in-Print.html are currently in print], or how many books [https://mashable.com/2010/08/05/number-of-books-in-the-world/ all currently printed information would fit into if bound into equal-length volumes], and then limiting those estimates to those that date before a specific year, counting how many books from the period of interest haven't survived to the present day (books that were "{{w|lost work|lost}}" either by deliberate discontinuation, or accidental destruction such as in the {{w|Destruction of the Library of Alexandria|Library of Alexandria}}) is a bit more difficult. However, because we know the work existed (it is mentioned by name in some other text), we have "pretty good estimate" that the number of lost works is "only" in the tens of thousands, as is the number of surviving works.
 
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