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It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history

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Re: It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history

#191

Post by verzali »

not-kinsale-joe wrote: post #54
_doctor_love wrote: post #21

We were in an age of reading? I gave up about 10 years ago on people as readers. I have recommended so many books and articles to software people over the years and it's honestly depressing how many people have told me they don't like to read. Like...you're a programmer? And you don't like to read? I assumed that people who enjoy software would be into intellectual stimulation but I've learned that this is wrong. Mor…

Can you recommend me a book to read?

What counts as a good book varies from person to person.

But take a look at anything by Asimov. I have a collection of his short stories and it is a nice read. Oh, and any short story collection by Chekhov.

Re: It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history

#193

Post by axus »

adamtaylor_13 wrote: post #170
bluetrain wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offense, but this comes off as incredibly smug... Glad you're able to find the time to read and write every day, but not not everyone has that luxury.

Are you sincerely suggesting, as you write a digital comment on Hacker News, that some people don't have 10-15 minutes in their day to read or write? Who are these people? Why do they not have the same 24 hours you and I do?

It must be nice, using Hacker News for education and entertainment, instead of cynically exploiting it as another online marketing opportunity.

Re: It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history

#194

Post by lapcat »

palmotea wrote: post #151
lapcat wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't call social media relaxing. After all, it's known as doomscrolling. I think reading is actually more relaxing. Social media is addictive, like a drug. Nobody calls cocaine relaxing.

> I wouldn't call social media relaxing. Neither did I.

What exactly does "mentally passive" mean? I doubt cocaine is that either.

Anyway, I don't buy the "energy" story, that doomscrolling is somehow low-energy, or even that people can't muster the energy for any activity other than doomscrolling.

Re: It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history

#195

Post by inanutshellus »

_doctor_love wrote: post #21

We were in an age of reading? I gave up about 10 years ago on people as readers. I have recommended so many books and articles to software people over the years and it's honestly depressing how many people have told me they don't like to read. Like...you're a programmer? And you don't like to read? I assumed that people who enjoy software would be into intellectual stimulation but I've learned that this is wrong. Mor…

if you wear yourself out mentally all day as part of your occupation, digging into a "good" book is often too much work.

As anecdata: My wife has a "brainy" occupation and her brilliant sister does not. Correspondingly, my wife has no interest in "brainy" books in her free time whilst her sister is always recommending new 900 page tomes.

Re: It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history

#196

Post by beej71 »

bluetrain wrote: post #160
beej71 wrote: post #152

GenX here... I thought this was a great read. I still hope for a young rebellion against the forces the presented in the article. And the author does point out some reasons to hope. Personally, I read and write every day. I usually have 2-3 books I'm going through at any one time. I've noticed that on long-haul flights, the movies typically hold no interest and I just read for hours—what a luxury to have nothing else…

No offense, but this comes off as incredibly smug... Glad you're able to find the time to read and write every day, but not not everyone has that luxury.

It's true that I'm in a place of privilege in the world. But it's amazing how much time gets freed up of one doesn't watch TV or read social media. Like the numbers show, it's hours per day.

I sympathize with people who truly do not have the time, but that's different from most people who simply choose not to spend their time reading or writing.

Re: It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history

#197

Post by Kuyawa »

_doctor_love wrote: post #21

We were in an age of reading? I gave up about 10 years ago on people as readers. I have recommended so many books and articles to software people over the years and it's honestly depressing how many people have told me they don't like to read. Like...you're a programmer? And you don't like to read? I assumed that people who enjoy software would be into intellectual stimulation but I've learned that this is wrong. Mor…

We read, a lot, but not books. We read manuals, get started docs, apis, git repos, AI responses, wikipedia, tik tok comments just for fun, we read constantly and will read till the end of times. That's the way we learn and entertain ourselves, there is no other way around that.

Re: It seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history

#200

Post by wuliwong »

everdrive wrote: post #155

You would be surprised just how quickly you can re-learn the focus to enjoy long-form writing and novels. Much like exercise, don't let your ego get in the way. Find something you enjoy, even if it's a bit trash, and just make it a habit. Like with everything you do regularly, your brain will get better at it, the habit will become more automatic, and you'll find yourself wanting to read more, and more often. It's ve…

I did this in the last couple years, I used an 'atomic habits' kinda approach. I put a book on the back of the toilet and pledged to read 1 page before looking at my phone. It worked out nicely, I've read a bunch of books over the last year or so after kicking it off in that way.

I am also not a lifelong reader, I didn't start reading until college. My girlfriend read a ton and the first Lord of the Rings movie was about to come out, I got caught up in the excitement and read all the books. Ever since then, I've read pretty steadily. Interesting though, it wasn't social media or anything that slowed my reading to a trickle, it was audiobooks. I freakin love them when the narrator is good. Anyway, that's how I got back to reading and now I haven't listened to an audiobook in a while. :)

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