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Reading Ourselves to Death

thenewatlantis.com

31–40 of 80 posts

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#31

I've regretted hours spent watching TV, playing computer games, trying to figure out how to complete a task with no information available, being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do, but I can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading. There may be people in the world whose lives would be improved by reading less, but I'm guessing a vanishingly small number.

The author seems to be focused on low-quality reading, both in terms of the material itself and in terms of habits formed while giving the material the (scant) attention it deserves. He says we encounter almost half a million words daily. No one is giving that stuff a deep reading, or should.

The culprit is probably work. Think of how much of the typical office job involves ingesting low-quality information at high speed. The jobs aren't mentally taxing, but they do burn you out from serious reading, because of all the time wasted on peoples' shitty emails. You basically need to become a skimmer to survive modern life, especially if you work an office job, and there's a nonzero amount of mental effort in code switching from serious reading to half-assed work email reading.

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#32
post #22

I've regretted hours spent watching TV, playing computer games, trying to figure out how to complete a task with no information available, being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do, but I can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading. There may be people in the world whose lives would be improved by reading less, but I'm guessing a vanishingly small number.

How about the time spent reading this (Schrodinger's value) comment on an internet social media site?

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Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#33

I think what you read is the key here. Mindless reading of text messages, news headlines and social media posts is very different cognitively than reading actual literature, something like Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow.

Social media posts may be bad for you brain, but my personal opinion of Gravity’s Rainbow is that ~everyone who “enjoys” that painful slog does so because of the “literary” status “enjoying” Gravity’s Rainbow affords them

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#34

I think what you read is the key here. Mindless reading of text messages, news headlines and social media posts is very different cognitively than reading actual literature, something like Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow.

Social media posts may be bad for you brain, but my personal opinion of Gravity’s Rainbow is that ~everyone who “enjoys” that painful slog does so because of the “literary” status “enjoying” Gravity’s Rainbow affords them

Is it not enough that you just didn’t enjoy it?

You have to tell yourself that everyone who did enjoy it is just pretending?

Why?

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#35

I've regretted hours spent watching TV, playing computer games, trying to figure out how to complete a task with no information available, being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do, but I can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading. There may be people in the world whose lives would be improved by reading less, but I'm guessing a vanishingly small number.

First thing that comes to mind is I regret reading my literature assignments.

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#36

I've regretted hours spent watching TV, playing computer games, trying to figure out how to complete a task with no information available, being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do, but I can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading. There may be people in the world whose lives would be improved by reading less, but I'm guessing a vanishingly small number.

I have noticed that when I spend a lot of time reading dystopian fiction, the sense of despair from that dystopia creeps into how I react to real-life. Not all fiction seems to work like that for me, but that style in particular leaves me looking up and going "Whoa," as I readjust to reality. So I do get where the author is coming from here; I think if you spend a significant part of your life in any constructed universe (whether that's Gilligan's Island, Fallout, or Harry Potter), you're inevitably going to start adapting to that universe at least a little bit.

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#37

I've regretted hours spent watching TV, playing computer games, trying to figure out how to complete a task with no information available, being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do, but I can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading. There may be people in the world whose lives would be improved by reading less, but I'm guessing a vanishingly small number.

I feel the same way but I don't know why. Even when I spend time reading average fiction, it still feels better than watching youtube.

Here’s my hot take: because of the deeply held cultural belief that screen time is bad and books are good.

Certainly there are truths behind that, but I think we need to realize that videos and even video games can be informative, uplifting, moving, etc, just like books. And conversely books can be a huge waste of time.

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#38

I've regretted hours spent watching TV, playing computer games, trying to figure out how to complete a task with no information available, being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do, but I can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading. There may be people in the world whose lives would be improved by reading less, but I'm guessing a vanishingly small number.

> can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading

Hmm, as an inexperienced youth I read - and believed - stuff that I now recognize as totally poisonous crap.

Putting someone else's thoughts in your brain should be better regulated. There used to be censorship, abolishing it was probably a bad idea. Yes, I know how we've been conditioned about that. Sort of proves my point.

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#39

I've regretted hours spent watching TV, playing computer games, trying to figure out how to complete a task with no information available, being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do, but I can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading. There may be people in the world whose lives would be improved by reading less, but I'm guessing a vanishingly small number.

Hope you don't regret reading this comment.

Re: Reading Ourselves to Death

#40

I've regretted hours spent watching TV, playing computer games, trying to figure out how to complete a task with no information available, being stuck waiting somewhere with nothing to do, but I can't think of a case I've regretted time spent reading. There may be people in the world whose lives would be improved by reading less, but I'm guessing a vanishingly small number.

I feel the same way but I don't know why. Even when I spend time reading average fiction, it still feels better than watching youtube.

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