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

theatlantic.com

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

#301

Post by tsunamifury »

breezybottom wrote: post #169
tsunamifury wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buddy, I just laid out the exact numbers that show less people go to cinema by almost half. The defintion of dying. And beyond that if you go deeper, the revenue growth is almost entirely attribured to higher prices in ticket sales while attendance in real terms continues to decline. What are you struggling with here?

So what? Revenue is price times quantity. One can offset the other, in fact, you just explained how.

By your rather … interesting… logic. Opera is most popular now than in the 1800s. (It’s not).

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

#302

Post by xboxnolifes »

chowells wrote: post #264
eudamoniac wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it's also important to realize that it is "doing it bad" if you are hoping to run a 4 minute mile but your only training is slowly walking around the block forever. At some point you have to seek out more substantial books. You can't just continually read pulp fiction and think you're going to improve at anything; you have to progress.

Improve at what? Pretentiousness? Book people really hate to hear it, but literary fiction follows Sturgeon's law just as much as Sturgeon's own genre. 90% of it isn't worth reading, and that includes 90% of what's fashionable at any given time. You're better off reading books you enjoy than suffering through garbage that you're told you're a bad person if you don't read. (Literary fiction isn't bad. But for the love…

What's how you so upset about their comment? They just said if you want to be able to read harder books, you need to start reading harder books. It's a pretty obvious statement.

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

#303

Post by Gud »

senordevnyc wrote: post #277
rTX5CMRXIfFG wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually read the article first, but I find it too long, and unnecessarily so. I am a huge proponent of reading, especially for the acquisition of new knowledge and perspectives, but I consider this form of writing rather entitled, beating around the bush and demanding too much of my time and attention just to make a point or two.

I completely agree. No wonder this form of “journalism” is in decline. It feels so self-indulgent and lacking in awareness of how precious attention really is.

Indeed - Get to the point.

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

#304

Post by woopah »

I also see the decline of reading, at least more "serious" long-form works, partly as an extension of the cult of productivity. Why read a 300 page book on something when you can get 75% of the main points in a 30s TikTok video? What's the point of "beautiful" language if it makes the sentence twice as long? I once had a coworker refer to Washington's farewell address as "deprecated" English, and he wasn't interested in reading it at all unless it was compressed down to an easily digestible structure.

Similar to the sentiments expressed in the article, I do think something is lost when your mind is no longer allowed to wander before getting "to the point," but it's hard to articulate this loss clearly without reaching for vague justifications like "aesthetics". However, I also don't think we should force our kids just to read for the sake of reading; I think there should be some intrinsic desire to read a well-articulated sentence, whether it be from books or articles or even Twitter, and it's the seeming lack of that desire which is sad to see.

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

#305

Post by blightful »

A few years ago I realized I hardly read books any longer. I maybe read a few books a year. I made an effort to start reading and read around 50 a year for a few years. That has dropped quite a bit the past year or two. It definitely took me a while to gain back my ability to focus on reading and I feel I am regressing again. I built a decent home library so have plenty to read but the desire comes and goes. I tried branching out into graphic novels and some have managed to hold my interest. Also some philosophy and psychology books. Lately nothing has really drawn me in though. In the past browsing a used book store or library usually had me getting interested in something different so I might do that soon. Also asking my family and friends for their favorite books.

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

#306

Post by beej71 »

abrowne wrote: post #275
beej71 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know there are a number of us who read encyclopedias over our breakfast cereal as kids. Ours were World Book.

Was your bookshelf stained from sliding them out? Ours was all red on the bottom edge.

Maybe! I'm red-green colorblind and the shelf was stained dark, so I wouldn't have noticed. :)

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

#307

Post by WhrRTheBaboons »

hateful wrote: post #245
WhrRTheBaboons wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Most of my learning now is via audio books while I'm doing something else. You're not actually learning anything then. Memorizing trivia, sure. But not actually learning.

With me (I have ADHD), I would never be able to listen to an audiobook alone, I would zone out and day dream one paragraph in. But If I'm playing a game on my phone, I can listen and pay attention for hours.

I have ADHD too and while I can totally sympathize, it just doesn't work for actual learning. Unless you're some sort of genius, I guess.

For what it's worth, I cannot recommend medication enough. It took me 4 attempts to finish university before finally getting diagnosed and acing everything first try. Sometimes I still find myself amazed at being able to pay attention to a meeting, a lecture, or a book for more than 30 minutes, remembering how impossible it was before.

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

#308

Post by SkyPuncher »

mrweasel wrote: post #202
pizzalife wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like a pretty controversial take. Why would you not be able to learn things orally?

You absolutely can learn orally, what I'd question is if you can do so without active listening. Listing to anything while doing, well anything, is pretty pointless to me, I tends to not listen and not absorb anything. I can barely listen to a podcast while working out, I miss huge gaps where my brain just isn't listening.

This is where you and I are different. I’m neurodivergent so having another low-mental load activity (like cleaning) actually helps my mind from wondering.

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

#309

Post by beej71 »

senordevnyc wrote: post #283
beej71 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

By the same token, it’s incredible how much time for watching great movies and TV shows are freed up if you don’t read novels. And while I enjoy both, I’m skeptical that a great novel is any “better” in some objective sense than a great film (or TV show). I have been deeply impacted in a lasting way by both.

I do definitely watch TV and movies from time to time. Really my beef is with social media. TV and movies as media, that's a wagon I just largely fell off of at some point.

I'll still watch a good movie, for sure. Interstellar, Primer, Coherence, Run Lola Run, The Big Short, Contact, Excalibur... But The Expanse, Project Hail Mary, The Martian... I enjoyed the books more than than the movies, and the movies were good. Still haven't read Contact, shamefully.

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