I haven't read a book in the last year, but I don't think you can relate that to being dumb. I spend much more than the average person reading and gaining information... most of it just happens to be online and I think that nips the whole argument in the bud. I don't need to read the whole Star Wars book series to be considered smart, and I don't think the two should be linked at all. Technology has made it so books are not the only medium for gaining knowledge and it is quite silly to think otherwise.
Last year? I have not read a hand book for prolly 6 + years. I enjoy reading DP and thats it! I need to make a whats in DP book. I could be a millionaire over night!
Nice example of pure crap!!! No wonder Americans are stupid, they say they have no time to read, yet they have no trouble spending 28 hours in front of da TV!!!! Now, go get that Gatorade and start reading!!
Thats because we're being the bosses and making other countries do grunt work so we can reap the benefits. Trust me, 3rd world countries would love to be sitting in front of a TV rather than working for pennies shelling peanuts just so they can put food on the table, much less pay for a TV in itself.
So true! If only most of us knew the pain these people go through daily we would not waste our time in front of the tv soaking in pleasure knowing they are in pain. We could be working hard and sending money to help them out!
Even in the computer age I still find it very enjoyable to curl up and read a good book for a couple of days.
I read 3 books last year, but they were all very long and complex. The shortest Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, and my brain has yet to fully recover from the experience.
It amazes me how things in this world are so interconnected. We can't read because we are so busy working to pay the bills, and this is because of inflation and debt. When I worked at a 9 to 5 job, I hated it because I didn't have time to gain knowledge or insight. I was stuck in the "rat race." They keep you dumb and ignorant by having you work your fingers to the bone to pay bills, mean while you miss out on a chance to become educated and well informed. Ever since I started my own business, my knowledge and reading have grown exponentially. Seriously. I love how some people in this thread have attacked reading and made excuses for why Americans don't do it, when the typical American watches hours of TV each day. I'm just the opposite. It has become rare for me to turn on my television. Most of the stuff that comes on these days is crap, and I get tired of hearing about the lives of celebrities. You have to go on the Internet or read "foreign newspapers" to get "real" news and learn what is really going on in your own country. I think television is the opposite of reading. I think it can actually make you dumb, and some studies have indicated as much. When you watch TV, your brain is in a low level of state. You are basically mesmerized. Images are handed to your brain, and unlike reading, where you have to look at the words on the page and interpret them, creating images in your brain, TV basically spoon feeds images to you. I think reading, whether it is an e-book or physical book, will always be superior to watching television.
This is categorically not true. First, anyone can publish or self-publish almost anything, at least in the US. Second, the publishers rarely review books for validity, or do research it if the content is sound scientifically. They review it for clarity, grammar, spelling, and most importantly - will it sell. Finally, the IEEE, AMA, and similar organizations, which publish peer-reviewed scientific documents on the Web, would find your comment obtuse. A perfect example that publishers will approve books on "sellability" rather which contain researched facts. Maybe this is the crux of your the problem. Luddites could not accept change either. Who are "they"? I cannot find a single post which "attacks" reading. Some have complained about lack of time, some lack of interest, but none have attacked it. This would suggest you concur (further down you confirm it) - reading on the web is comparable to reading a newspaper? So reading on the web compares to reading in the print, ergo just like reading a book. Note my leap is not as far as yours. Your leap is that Americans, I presume you referring to US, are dumb because they do not read books. Not reading books -> therefore dumb. I think that is what you are saying. I cannot disagree with you on this, but I have yet to find a peer-reviewed scientific research report on the topic. Uhmmm... Are you saying then that the poll, you brought to our attention was really just to sensationalize the topic? Are you saying that the poll is of no real value, as reading e-books, which were not part of the poll, most likely would skew the results? buffalo's statement is absolutely true.
The United States is a free country(supposedly) so you have the right to publish your work under the Constitution. However, if you have a crack pot theory for science, which hasn't been tested or verified, don't expect it to end up in the Scientific American. The point I was trying to make is that you have to take what you read on the net with a grain of salt, ESPECIALLY when it is related to science or history. Most mainstream academic publishers will not bother with you if your information on science or history has not facts or experiments to back it up. On the Internet, anyone can publish anything. There is nothing wrong with that, but don't believe everything you read on the Internet. That is what I was trying to say. Maybe "attack" is too strong of a word. How about, "they don't consider it to be very important?" Reading on the web, and reading a book is basically the same thing. But I get the impression that if the typical American is not reading a physical book, why would they be reading e-books? Both require the exact same thing, except for e-books you need a computer. Oh sure there are articles about it. Below is a link to an articles published on CNN on August 20, 1999. It talks about the harmful effects of television on children. If CNN bothers to run a story on it, that would probably mean it comes from a peer reviewed source. http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9908/20/kids.tv.effects/ When you study history, it becomes obvious that governments and very powerful people have concealed certain forms of information from the public. In the Middle Ages, books cost hundreds of dollars, and only the royalty could afford them. Much of history has been like this. Priests and powerful groups with knowledge have used their "information asymmetry" to control the dumbed down and ignorant masses. There is no specific "they." When I use the term, I mean powerful, educated, and very wealthy professionals who use their knowledge to control others. This could be a mortgage broker, a banker, lawyers, doctors, or even a used car salesman. When someone has knowledge, and you don't, you set yourself up to be manipulated by the person who has knowledge, because as the saying goes, "knowledge is power." Reading an e-book, reading a physical book......its all the same thing. It leads to the same results, which is the acquisition of knowledge. I'm not against e-books. I read 40+ pages last night in a book on Black Holes, Wormholes, and Time Machines. I gained knowledge just like I would from any physical book. I have both e-books and physical books. I don't discriminate between the two. But you know what I bet, I bet if a poll was done on Americans reading e-books, the results would come back the same, because the problem is not about the type of reading you do, but the fact that people just don't read. And if you talk to the typical American, you will find out this is true. As I said in previous posts on this thread, I asked my brother the capital of China, and he tells me Bangkok. I ask my other friend, who is a college graduate with a Bachelors degree, the year 911 happened, and he says 2002. Don't believe me, just ask your friends and neighbors basic questions like: 1. how many continents are there? 2. What is capital of Iran? 3. What is the difference between a Sunni Muslim and a Shiite Muslim? 4. What year did we invade Iraq? 6. Which continent do Marsupials live on? 7. What is the difference between Einstein's general theory of relativity, and his special theory of relativity. Or ask them, how many theories did Einstein have? I can answer all these questions off the top of my head, and that is because I read. It is not because I'm some know it all, because I don't know nearly enough. But I take the time to acquire knowledge. Every smart kid I knew growing up was someone who read a large number of books. Reading excites me more than even going to the movies.
To me, the people in this thread how make excuses about reading, are the same type of people who make excuses about exercising. Physical exercise and mental exercise is equally important for the body. Now, I admit, while I'm a bit lacking on the physical exercise area, I realize that the brain has to be exercised to. Diseases like Alzheimer are believed to be a result of not exercising the mind. I believe that if you exercise your mind, through reading, abstract, thinking, math, etc, your brain, memory, and function will remain steady throughout your life. If I could exercise both my mind and body simultaneously, I would have it made.
personally, ive found that i think clearly when im jogging... for some reason it helps me think through things that otherwise are quite perplexing... id recommend getting comfortable shoes, brand new socks, very comfy jogging shorts and a light tshirt... then jog at a slow pace... if you try and go too fast, you focus more on the run... just let your mind wander and relax.... it helps me a lot sometimes... Anyways, great posts tesla...
Tesla, I agree with you. I read and write fiction, now, for the most part. But my interests range all over the place, and go in great cycles: At times heavy in history, political economy, philosophy, comparative religions, science (and both the history and philosophy of science).