A Healthy Diet For The Mind

About reading fiction apart from technical things - I believe that fiction writing is important and practical for society as a whole in a way similar to how thought experiments and simulations are important for scientists. Writers of books and TV shows create imaginery worlds in which they set up different scenarios, create problems and propose solutions. Those stories often create discussions, in which people generate and evaluate ideas.

For example, many science-fiction fans get involved in lengthy discussions about physics of space travel and social consequences of technology that doesn't exist yet. But it might exist in the future, as it is with ie. Orson Scott Card's writings exploring influence of global information network on society and governments back in 1980-s.

I believe the same applies to other genres as well - good stories contain simulations of events that might not be happening right now around us, but one day they might. It's a human way to create solutions before real problems strike hard.

I welcome healthy discussion on the Story's role in shaping, sharpening, and healing minds (especially as we grow up and then grow older). At the very least, it's a big change from the "I have empirical evidence that degrees in English and the people who major in it are absolutely worthless" threads/links that run through HN from time to time.

Remember, all, those great characters and classic tales you've ever read and heard/seen are spun by someone who studied the language and the past storytellers just as intently as a software engineer studied the merge and bubble sort.

Suppose you were a news outlet and suppose you were trying to maximize your company's profitability.

Clearly,when folks change the channel away from your program, your profitability goes down. So, you might do a bit of research to find out what tends to make folks change or not change the channel.

Your research could indicate that strong negative emotions, such as anger, sadness or fear tend to make the viewer fixate and not change the channel.

Finally, you might ask yourself, how should the news be presented so as to maximize profits?

In many cases, a news outlet's profitability is directly related to the amount of emotional distress it can generate in its viewers. Sure isn't something I want to support when looked at that way.

A little off topic:

In the "It Pays To Be Specific" post below the main story, I sure hope the student didn't get an F for the assignment, assuming his submission was otherwise correct.

I think you got it - "If it bleeds, it leads". I can't fault them for maximizing revenues, but I'd advise everyone to avoid them, just like you'd avoid a casino or social gaming.