46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023 • Hacker News Board

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#51

Post by FredPret » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:46 PM UTC

arnaudsm wrote: post #8

Why do we obsess so much over legacy form factors? Watching movies, listening to 2h conference talks, playing a 60h narrative videogame, and reading scientific papers in PDF may not be as noble, but they are equally meaningful to me.

As you know games can be incredibly informative even though they usually aren't.

I learned history in a way that sticks much better from Europa Universalis and Total War than from books, even though those games aren't even real in the sense that you're making up a new timeline. Orbital mechanics only clicked for me when trying to land a rover on the Mun in KSP.

Maybe entertaining simulations are the second-best way to learn besides actually doing something, with books somewhere further down the line.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#52

Post by NineStarPoint » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:46 PM UTC

rfarley04 wrote: post #3

But all my friends on Goodreads are claiming to finish a book a week Are... Are they LYING?? No one lies on the internet. EDIT: Wow I guess I hit a, nerve. Sorry folks. I use Goodreads and finish about a book a month. So I don't think a book a week is unreasonable/impossible. I just meant to allude to the fact that the platform has gotten a lot of attention for review bombing and profile manipulation. Anyways, here i…

Or, perhaps, the sort of person who spends time on a website centered around reading is unsurprisingly in the top percentiles of reading amount.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#53

Post by hipadev23 » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:47 PM UTC

arnaudsm wrote: post #8

Why do we obsess so much over legacy form factors? Watching movies, listening to 2h conference talks, playing a 60h narrative videogame, and reading scientific papers in PDF may not be as noble, but they are equally meaningful to me.

> reading scientific papers

Based on recent HN threads, sounds like a large percentage of scientific papers are pure fiction. At least books on Goodreads have public reviews and a simple star rating.

Does similar exist for scientific papers?

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#54

Post by ajsnigrutin » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:47 PM UTC

Extropy_ wrote: post #17

arnaudsm wrote: post #8

Why do we obsess so much over legacy form factors? Watching movies, listening to 2h conference talks, playing a 60h narrative videogame, and reading scientific papers in PDF may not be as noble, but they are equally meaningful to me.

Because most of the great intellectual works exist in these "legacy form factors."

But a lot of modern knowledge is in a form of youtube videos and a lot of trash is in a form of cheap airport-kiosk books.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#55

Post by Erratic6576 » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:49 PM UTC

arnaudsm wrote: post #8

Why do we obsess so much over legacy form factors? Watching movies, listening to 2h conference talks, playing a 60h narrative videogame, and reading scientific papers in PDF may not be as noble, but they are equally meaningful to me.

Written letters are not an obsolete technology.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#56

Post by Detrytus » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

rfarley04 wrote: post #3

But all my friends on Goodreads are claiming to finish a book a week Are... Are they LYING?? No one lies on the internet. EDIT: Wow I guess I hit a, nerve. Sorry folks. I use Goodreads and finish about a book a month. So I don't think a book a week is unreasonable/impossible. I just meant to allude to the fact that the platform has gotten a lot of attention for review bombing and profile manipulation. Anyways, here i…

Self-selection: Goodreads main function is to recommend a next book to read to people who like reading. No wonder Goodreads users read more than an average American.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#57

Post by shikshake » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

olddustytrail wrote: post #41

arnaudsm wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of the past yes, but what about the present and future?

Well, can you name a computer game that is a great artistic work? There are many that are good , but I can't say there are any that are on a par with, say, "The Lord of the Rings" or "War and Peace" or "1984". I'd love to hear of one that was though.

There are many innovative and critically acclaimed titles in the independent game scene, though they are obviously judged on different criteria by taking advantage of the interactive medium. Inside, Disco Elysium, and Kentucky Route Zero, just to name a few.

Mainstream gaming is still getting there, but to me titles like The Last of Us Part 2 are on par with classic HBO shows like Six Feet Under.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#58

Post by arnaudsm » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:52 PM UTC

shikshake wrote: post #46

arnaudsm wrote: post #8

Why do we obsess so much over legacy form factors? Watching movies, listening to 2h conference talks, playing a 60h narrative videogame, and reading scientific papers in PDF may not be as noble, but they are equally meaningful to me.

Reading is an active skill vs watching something is more passive. There’s lots of pathways in your brain that intensive reading lights up compared to other mediums. And lots of studies show that you retain more information and building stronger informational connections when reading vs watching. No one is telling you to stop watching movies or playing video games, but being a more active participant in a leisure acti…

Gaming is more active than reading. Maybe you're also thinking of imagination's involvment?

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#59

Post by Erratic6576 » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:52 PM UTC

arnaudsm wrote: post #33

layer8 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Books are not a legacy form factor.

The article above is about their decline in consumption

There’s no such decline in consumption. There’s always been a horde of illiterate people among the lower classes because decoding written letters is a very abstract and complicated intellectual activity.

A few centuries ago, the illiteracy rate was way higher. But it’s always been mostly been niche activity for intelligent people, that’s why the school used to focus on training that skill

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#60

Post by abtinf » Sat, Feb 10, 2024, 4:52 PM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #45

Looking at the list of bestsellers, I'm not upset that so many do not read. (Yes, Britney Spears is still on the NYT list. I checked so you don't have to.)

My understanding is that book bestseller lists are essentially just opinions, e.g. NYT has a select list of book stores they contact to gather sales information. There are no industry-wide sales metrics, unlike the music industry.

From what I've read, this is why you never see Christian literature on the top seller lists. The Christian publishing industry is absolutely massive and would consistently dominate any objective top sellers list.