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Why can’t we read anymore?

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Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#171

Post by Nursie »

andrepd wrote: post #166
Nursie wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We shall have to agree to disagree then. Literary analysis doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. The enjoyable part of the reading experience for me is engaging with the picture it paints, with the world it posits and the characters it places within it. I certainly enjoy reading books with more depth that The DaVinci Code, but I can think of little that would interrupt my enjoyment of reading more than stepping back…

Complexity is not synonym with intentional or unnecessary obfuscation. The latter is just a silly way to create needless barriers to the understanding of the work. I'd like to say that I can't speak much for books. Like I said I don't read heavy classics nor do I spend dozens of hours analysing a text, but I sometimes do with music. Part of the pleasure I get from listening to classical music is from the aesthetic be…

>> Complexity is not synonym with intentional or unnecessary obfuscation.

Certainly not, no, which is why I see a difference between the complexity of chess and the obfuscation that goes into some high literature.

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#172

Post by peu4000 »

Retra wrote: post #26
jasode wrote: post #2

I've read over 500 fiction books and 2000+ non-fiction. I've read many of the big thick classics like Moby Dick, War & Peace, Infinite Jest. I've kept a spreadsheet of all the books I've read somewhat like Art Garfunkel[1] (of Simon & Garfunkel music duo). I've also read Nick Carr's "The Shallows"[2] and other authors about about the web's effect on attention span, distractions, etc. With all that said, I'm not convi…

Whenever I real long-form books, my mind will occasionally wander into other areas, while my eyes keep reading on. I'll have to continually go back and re-read what I feel like I've just read. This isn't just an internet-fueled lack of attention, it's how I've always read, and how I image most people read most of the time. The difference is with a website, you can go investigate your immediate thoughts rather than co…

Not saying you have it, but this is a common symptom of ADHD.

I'd recommend the book Driven to Distraction, it's pretty informative!

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#173

Post by Nursie »

auxym wrote: post #162
Nursie wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We shall have to agree to disagree then. Literary analysis doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. The enjoyable part of the reading experience for me is engaging with the picture it paints, with the world it posits and the characters it places within it. I certainly enjoy reading books with more depth that The DaVinci Code, but I can think of little that would interrupt my enjoyment of reading more than stepping back…

You make valid and understandable points, I think, but I'd still like to expose my point of view, as I read mostly "classics", interrupted by the occasional piece of non-fic. I'm not really into stopping my reading to take notes and analyze sentence structures either. However, I deeply enjoy it when the author uses fiction to express complex ideas about society, philosophy and human life in general. I enjoy that I ca…

I don't think we're all that far off from each other in the end, I probably just have a higher tolerance for trashy sci-fi than you do!

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#174

Post by mattmanser »

Someone wrote: post #158
mattmanser wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every single programming book in the world after you've read the first one: Chapter 1: Simple types (um, could have done this in a page) Chapter 2: Complex types (this too) Chapter 3: How you can compile from the command line (even though no-one in their sane mind does this in this language) Chapter 4: Inheritance (oh god, please stop) Chapter 5: Conditional statements (no, for the love of god stop) Chapter 6: Loops…

"Learn x in -1 days" books follow that pattern, but original ones? Not this one: http://www.stroustrup.com/3rd_tbl.html Or this one: http://www.forth.com/starting-forth/index.html Or this one: https://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/toc/toc.html Or this one: http://jonaquino.blogspot.com/2010/04/table-of-contents-for-... In general, once you know a few different languages and want to learn a new one, read the language spec or…

It was a joke.

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#175

Post by rturben »

Schwolop wrote: post #122

Part of the problem is articles like this. There were perhaps five interesting sentences of content in that entire piece, and several hundred entirely redundant words and personal examples used only to set the tone. If modern writers have such disrespect for their audience, is it any wonder some of that audience hasn't the attention span to stick with it? Older, serious, and timeless literature requires deep concentr…

In an age where communication platforms are so readily abundant and (relatively) easily accessible, people aren't forced to write economically. Contrast this with even fifty years ago when in order to get more than a handful of people to read your work, it had to be published in some way.

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#176

Post by vlasev »

oldmanjay wrote: post #97
vlasev wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Umm, 500 books in one summer? Yeah right! What kind of books? Were they long? That's over 4 books per DAY! I don't think so.

why, because you haven't done it? your tone certainly doesn't convince me you have much else as a point.

Well, no, I don't have MUCH else as a point. If you're reading that fast you probably not going to read as well. Obviously we're not going for perfect retention here but still. That's a ridiculous amount of text to go through in such a short span of time. I feel like at that point it starts being less about reading and more about adding numbers to a list. But I digress.

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#177

Post by vlasev »

sireat wrote: post #146
vlasev wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Umm, 500 books in one summer? Yeah right! What kind of books? Were they long? That's over 4 books per DAY! I don't think so.

It is quite possible to read 500 books over 100 days as a secluded teenager if one is reading mostly 200-300 page books and most of the books do not require perfect attention to detail. A proficient reader can easily read 2 pages a minute, so lets say 1200 pages/2=600 minutes, so 10 hours a day. Seems quite doable for a bored teenager without a computer/tablet/phone/outside activity. I don't think I ever did more tha…

Well, I guess you are right. I doubt the speed would be consistent over 10 hours but I can easily imagine a bored teenager could sleep 7-8 hours and read most of the rest of the time. So the number drops from maybe about 500 words per minute to something less than that. And that still allows some great comprehension.

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#178

Post by anarazel »

jasode wrote: post #2

I've read over 500 fiction books and 2000+ non-fiction. I've read many of the big thick classics like Moby Dick, War & Peace, Infinite Jest. I've kept a spreadsheet of all the books I've read somewhat like Art Garfunkel[1] (of Simon & Garfunkel music duo). I've also read Nick Carr's "The Shallows"[2] and other authors about about the web's effect on attention span, distractions, etc. With all that said, I'm not convi…

> With all that said, I'm not convinced that people "should" read long form books. I read all those books because I personally enjoyed it. I just can't say with confidence that others should do the same or they will be "missing out" on some unquantifiable intellectual nirvana.

Isn't the point is that the author of the article actually does enjoy reading books. And feels it's helpful for him personally? And that despite that he'd not managed to read in a satisfying manner for years; because he'd let him get to "addicted" to short term distractions?

I feel with the author; I still manage to read more than five books, but there's weeks were that's not the case. To a large degree because I let myself get distracted in a similar way. Without it being beneficial to myself or others.

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#179

Post by therealdrag0 »

Vraxx wrote: post #168
basicallydan wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it does appear that the perspective you're talking about has been repeated over and over, it's important to recognise that it's a perspective which applies to whatever time in which it was held. Therefore, it's relative. Maybe the past _was_ amazing and wonderful, and perhaps _that_ past's past was even _more_ amazing and wonderful. It's possible things _are_ getting worse and worse all the time, only society h…

Except most of the activities that are cited as "dying" in the late 1800s are still alive and well. Long walks? Check, still here and valued. Letter writing? Not as prevalent, but still done. Conversation? Still existent, despite naysayers in the 1800s and people claiming text is the death of conversation. I think the difference people are noticing is that as some things begin to have an alternative, the minority (or…

And 2000 years ago people decried writing because it weakened memory.

Re: Why can’t we read anymore?

#180

Post by tby »

Since I've started to meditate a few months ago, I really read a lot more than before.. It seems to lessen my need to procrastinate and feelings of "fear of missing out".
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