Never look down on those who don't read, or are not as literate as you. To be able to be well read is to be privileged - the time needed, the ability to disengage from life and it's necessities: these things are what reading need, and many do not have the opportunity, or are not in an environment that enables such opportunity, and is an indictment on our social and cultural organization, not on individuals. — StreetlightX
I can't read. It bores me. I lose my interest, I can't keep my attention focused. — god must be atheist
Why do you feel like your reading skills have been exponentially deteriorating? Was it just disinterest? I will admit I've become quite disinterred in fiction over the last year or so, it started when I became more serious into researching-and had less time for "fun" reading, and also less reason, as my life had become more social and more "fun". Now I read almost entirely non-fiction, and only delve into fiction when I want reread some of my favourites, either for a specific purpose or out of sheer boredom or lack of other materials. But I do doubt that I will avoid fiction forever, one day I want to write a great opus of fantasy.Up to about five or ten years ago I was able to read articles in magazines. Now those are very difficult to do for me. I currently read all articles written by Will J. Bouman (spelling? Bouwman?) published in the magazine Philosophy Now. His articles come out about twice a year.
You are 100% correct, I did not mean to imply that I was condescending of "non-readers", also I, more than most I've met, am the first to take circumstantial systems into account; such as the 'privileged' notion you brought up. Libraries for example are extremely important to foster reading and encourage research ect. I lived in a town of about 80k people with only one public library (with terrible parking and no space)-only one copy of even such infamous books as "Twilight" or "The Hunger Games". Nothing disheartened me more, as I was already well aware of the cultural and economic gut that was that town.Never look down on those who don't read, or are not as literate as you. To be able to be well read is to be privileged - the time needed, the ability to disengage from life and it's necessities: these things are what reading need, and many do not have the opportunity, or are not in an environment that enables such opportunity, and is an indictment on our social and cultural organization, not on individuals
I want to write this quote out in my notebook. I love that interpretation; I have always felt that way but never found the right words beyond "accessing foreign subjective experiences and realities" which is a bit metaphysical and not always correct; because it doesn't address the concept of time-experience and perception.Books and reading are an exemplary mechanism that allows one to access such hollows in time, which give thought a consistency proper to their own being. Reading is not the only way to do this, but it is an important and vital one.
I'm dead. You just made me realize I always forget to include my online reading/research/writing/communicating in my reading tallies; which is fallacious of me because these readings take up the majority of my free time, leaving very little for 'book reading'. I also laugh, it too takes me a good 2-3 hours to draft a reply. Probably because I'm also usually high and exhausted and have "Corner Gas" on.I used to call myself a non-reader. Then I started paying attention to all the short readings I do (this website, newspapers, magazines, wikipedia, email, etc) and I probably average an hour or two per day (to be fair, most of that time is probably spent proofreading my own posts :grimace:).
@I like sushiAny idiot can read words, but not everyone can actually READ.
Guess so. Someone has to play Socrates sometimes I guess. Also much of the academic/historical/literary side of this forum I get to receive in formal school, so instead I opt to discuss more general/socio-political topics. Forr the majority of the time I feel very alone, misunderstood, and under-stimulated, so being on this forum and getting into squabbles is good for me.@Bitter Crank
↪Grre You are a trouble maker. — Bitter Crank
What do you think can be done to improve literary education and consequently, the educational success of students? — Grre
I want to write this quote out in my notebook. I love that interpretation; I have always felt that way but never found the right words beyond "accessing foreign subjective experiences and realities" which is a bit metaphysical and not always correct; because it doesn't address the concept of time-experience and perception.
I am curious though, what other ways did you have in mind as a way to "hollow time"? Intimacy? Drugs? Hard work? — Grre
That's not to say that there's no value in reading philosophy and reading other things for doing philosophy, of course. But one shouldn't think that one can't proceed if one isn't that well-read, and one shouldn't think something like, "I'm just going to wait until I've read enough to start doing it myself." For many things, "waiting until you're prepared" to do it is just a means of perpetual procrastination, so that you'd never actually do the activity in question, because there's always more preparation that one could do. — Terrapin Station
I do have mental illnesses: depression, anxiety, and perhaps ADHD (psychiatrist asked me if I got evaluated), and that may well be the cause of my lack of focus. Although, my lack of focus may also be due to any number of things I mentioned in my last post. There's so many things that can affect your focus.Have you considered the reality perhaps mental illness does affect your focus? — Grre
One has to begin very early by talking to children - a lot, and nicely - so that they accumulate a big supply of words as soon as possible. Then it is important to get little children interested in books (start with the thick-cardboard paged books). Read to the children, encourage them to read. When children see their parents reading, when children see books around the house, that is a good thing.
Yes they should. Should be one of the key points of parenting-just like teaching your children to wash their hands ect. Read read read. My mother read to every night up until probably the fourth grade, and even then, she would still occasionally read aloud novels for me to enjoy. I owe my literacy almost entirely to her. Not to school. They took my books away from me. My nonfiction reading skills I had to self-teach, including note taking systems.Parents should certainly take time out to read to their children if they can.
all the short readings I do (this website, newspapers, magazines, wikipedia, email, etc) and I probably average an hour or two per day (to be fair, most of that time is probably spent proofreading my own posts :grimace:). — ZhouBoTong
I think of re-reading some of my old favourites, but can't bring myself to actually read them.Now I (...) only delve into fiction when I want reread some of my favourites, — Grre
Focus is perception within one's subjective reality-or Umwelt as Uekell described . Every Umwelt has different 'focus' receptors, meaning depending on our physiology, context, environment, and desires, we focus on different 'tones' at a different time. Uekell was kind of a biologist, so he's speaking broadly-not just people, he actually gives the example of a fly. A fly focuses on things useful/comprehendible in his environment. Take a room, and the fly focuses on the light, or walls/windows to land on. Give a dog the same room, and what focus 'tones' light up for him? Probably not a table, unless it has food on it. A bookshelf is useless to a dog-but a comfy bed, while useless to a fly, has the 'bed' tone a dog might want when said dog is tired. Or for example, take how when we are desperately scrambling around for a writing utensil, our "tone" in the focus of our Umwelt shifts suddenly to a super specific task-finding a specific writing utensil, thus blurring out say, our stapler, or the fire alarm on the wall above us. Does that make a little sense?There's so many things that can affect your focus.
I concur. I LOVE reading my own posts (and short stories, essays, etc.) It's equivalent to a person loving his or her own voice in speech.
Re reading old books is great, it's like hanging out with close friends. You know exactly how good it is going to be-and you pick up on nuances you didn't catch the first time. Or maybe that's just me being autistic, and overrating the value of repetition and sameness. — Grre
Do you think English is one of the hardest languages to learn as an adult? — Bitter Crank
Do "people not read books anymore?" How harmful is this? Likewise, how important are public libraries?
Thoreau wrote a really good section of "reading"-particularly talking about the spiritual act. Most of my personal favourite authors/philosophers/theorists are also devout readers. I read somewhere that the key to writing well is reading well. — Grre
Just musing here. But let's talk about books. — Grre
"it's" — god must be atheist
I concur. I LOVE reading my own posts (and short stories, essays, etc.) It's equivalent to a person loving his or her own voice in speech. — god must be atheist
Again I concur wholeheartedly. I just had re-read my favourites so many times in the past, that I expect no new nuances to crop their heads. Which is most likely a mistake. There are nuances everywhere that you hadn't before noticed, because appreciating art of any form is very much dependent on the mood you are in at the time. — god must be atheist
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