4 ms·

Considering that some people read zero books a year, the simple act of reading a book would be a huge improvement in ongoing literacy and attention span for som

Considering that some people read zero books a year, the simple act of reading a book would be a huge improvement in ongoing literacy and attention span for some people.

xyzzy4 10y ago
I think if books were more useful, people would have a better attention span for them. Reading a book won't automatically improve your life. Usually it's just another form of time-wasting.
- akiselev 10y ago
  Reading may be just another form of "time-wasting" but it requires far more focus and brain activity than watching television and it doesn't have a fast reward feedback loop like video games or physical activity. For many people sitting down to read a book takes less energy and focus than the other activities but for many (or even most) others the lack of external stimuli and social engagement means reading requires more of an investment. Books are no more or less useful than other communication medium, they just require different parts of the brain to engage.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- rabboRubble 10y ago
  "...if books were more useful..." ...[great pause]... I am not capable of replying in a way to meaningfully improve your outlook in life. Good luck to you sir. ...[close browser and go for walk]...
  - nils-m-holm 10y ago
    I get his point, though. At the moment I'm guiding my goddaughter through her first term at university, so I'm reading a lot, and I have to say that the average textbook can be condensed to 10% of its volume without any loss of information. It's a terrible waste of time, even if you are only scanning the texts. Please don't get me wrong: I love reading in general.
    - ivan_ah 10y ago
      > the average textbook can be condensed to 10% of its volume without any loss of information It's crazy isn't it? I wrote a math & physics textbook[1] that condenses nearly 2000+ pages of precalculus, mechanics, and calculus, in very few pages. I think I could make it even shorter, but I wanted to include lots of exercises/problems because those are important. [1] https://minireference.com/ https://minireference.com/ see extended preview here https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSguide_v5_preview.pdf https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSguide_v5_previ...

Considering that some people read zero books a year, the simple act of reading a book would be a huge improvement in ongoing literacy and attention span for some people.

xyzzy4 10y ago

I think if books were more useful, people would have a better attention span for them. Reading a book won't automatically improve your life. Usually it's just another form of time-wasting.

akiselev 10y ago
Reading may be just another form of "time-wasting" but it requires far more focus and brain activity than watching television and it doesn't have a fast reward feedback loop like video games or physical activity. For many people sitting down to read a book takes less energy and focus than the other activities but for many (or even most) others the lack of external stimuli and social engagement means reading requires more of an investment. Books are no more or less useful than other communication medium, they just require different parts of the brain to engage.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
rabboRubble 10y ago
"...if books were more useful..." ...[great pause]... I am not capable of replying in a way to meaningfully improve your outlook in life. Good luck to you sir. ...[close browser and go for walk]...
- nils-m-holm 10y ago
  I get his point, though. At the moment I'm guiding my goddaughter through her first term at university, so I'm reading a lot, and I have to say that the average textbook can be condensed to 10% of its volume without any loss of information. It's a terrible waste of time, even if you are only scanning the texts. Please don't get me wrong: I love reading in general.
  - ivan_ah 10y ago
    > the average textbook can be condensed to 10% of its volume without any loss of information It's crazy isn't it? I wrote a math & physics textbook[1] that condenses nearly 2000+ pages of precalculus, mechanics, and calculus, in very few pages. I think I could make it even shorter, but I wanted to include lots of exercises/problems because those are important. [1] https://minireference.com/ https://minireference.com/ see extended preview here https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSguide_v5_preview.pdf https://minireference.com/static/excerpts/noBSguide_v5_previ...