Three Theses on the Literacy Crisis • Hacker News Board

Re: Three Theses on the Literacy Crisis

#51

Post by tonymet » Tue, Jul 28, 2026, 3:01 PM UTC

nottorp wrote: post #36

tonymet wrote: post #18

I’m more worried about the lack of writing . Far too much time is spent reading other people’s ideas. And very little of what has been published in the past 15 years has been worthwhile. Better to encourage more people to solidify & advocate for their own ideas, opinions, beliefs rather than regurgitating someone else’s.

> And very little of what has been published in the past 15 years has been worthwhile. I'd say that's survivor bias. Take any 15 year time period and 98% of what has been published in any form will be crap. We just remember only the 2%. I might agree that the shift from art and entertainment to content creation has reduced that 2% to 1-1.5% though.

Possibly, but some eras are better than others. And given the volume we are producing, even at 2% it should eclipse all of the books you read in high school. Despite the volume, it’s nearly all garbage from what I can tell (at least what makes it through the marketing and awards pipelines)

Re: Three Theses on the Literacy Crisis

#52

Post by tonymet » Tue, Jul 28, 2026, 3:04 PM UTC

devilbunny wrote: post #48

nottorp wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And very little of what has been published in the past 15 years has been worthwhile. I'd say that's survivor bias. Take any 15 year time period and 98% of what has been published in any form will be crap. We just remember only the 2%. I might agree that the shift from art and entertainment to content creation has reduced that 2% to 1-1.5% though.

One major shift has been the death of newspapers. When that was the primary way to get information about the world around you, it wasn’t just readers who benefited - it created a steady stream of capable, workmanlike writers. They weren’t literary geniuses, but they were capable of stringing together a few paragraphs of readable prose on a deadline. And they got paid for it; how many people can make a living off thei…

Even peasant Civil War soldiers penned more expressive letters than Ivy League graduated journalists do today, so the source was even more broadly experienced. But you’re right about this one aspect.

Re: Three Theses on the Literacy Crisis

#53

Post by littlekey » Tue, Jul 28, 2026, 11:03 PM UTC

I read the first thesis and saw this section on modern civic engagement:

"Consider the nested and divergent forms of literacy required for a 19-year-old trying to participate in the democratic process as an informed citizen today ... they cross-reference short-form video analysis, parse hyperlinked primary sources, evaluate the credibility and rhetorical posture of algorithmic feeds, and weigh the consensus within a comment section"

which seems like a huge stretch. This may be "literacy" in the sense of being "computer literate" but I see very little connection here to actual literacy as in being able to read. First of all short form video is not reading, full stop. "Parsing hyperlinked primary sources" COULD be, but is that really happening? Most of these feeds are just full of talking heads reacting to other talking heads. The only reading going on is the last point about comment sections, and I think the comparison of that to reading a book only makes the impression more depressing, not less.

Re: Three Theses on the Literacy Crisis

#54

Post by nottorp » Thu, Jul 30, 2026, 10:38 AM UTC

tonymet wrote: post #52

devilbunny wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One major shift has been the death of newspapers. When that was the primary way to get information about the world around you, it wasn’t just readers who benefited - it created a steady stream of capable, workmanlike writers. They weren’t literary geniuses, but they were capable of stringing together a few paragraphs of readable prose on a deadline. And they got paid for it; how many people can make a living off thei…

Even peasant Civil War soldiers penned more expressive letters than Ivy League graduated journalists do today, so the source was even more broadly experienced. But you’re right about this one aspect.

Unrelated to the topic, but maybe that was because they couldn't read or write and paid someone to do it for them?