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> I'd be flat out surprised if books didn't have their detractors back in the day. They most certainly did have. This reminds me about Socrates' take on books:

> I'd be flat out surprised if books didn't have their detractors back in the day. They most certainly did have. This reminds me about Socrates' take on books: "for this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality." Source: http://www.units.miamioh.edu/technologyandhumanities/plato.htm http://www.units.miamioh.edu/technologyandhumanities/plato.h...

mrow84 8y ago
I, for one, find that quite hard to argue with. I guess that makes me tiresome company.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- m1573rp34130dy 8y ago
  critical review is important, you shouldnt feel cowed against a rational argument, if we all agreed with each other then the first idea that occured would be accompanied by mutual consensus then we would snap to a halt and go nowhere with no variation or innovation
flatroze 8y ago
"And so it happens that the person who reads a great deal — that is to say, almost the whole day, and recreates himself by spending the intervals in thoughtless diversion, gradually loses the ability to think for himself; just as a man who is always riding at last forgets how to walk." Source: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/chapter3.html https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/...
madeuptempacct 8y ago
Reading is a balance - not reading in childhood is missing out. Reading too much as an adult is running away from life, much like TV and video games. On the other hand, I am reading the Three Body Problem now, and I am learning some history and being forced to remember scientific principles I didn't review since high school. So I guess the lesson is quality and not doing too much of it. I stopped reading sci-fi that didn't win the Nebula (or whatever it's called) award. Just not worth the time.
- _nothing 8y ago
  Kids today miss out if they're not online (which largely takes place on phones) and on social media. They miss out in social interaction, which is arguably even more vital to their development than reading books. Even when I was younger, so many interactions outside of school took place on AIM-- whole friendships and relationships were built off of these online interactions. Nowadays kids have to be on top of the latest viral trends and YouTube videos and Twitch streams in order to keep up with what their friends are talking about. Like it or not, the digital world is pretty much essential for kids these days.
  - cheezburger 8y ago
    They miss out the dogma way of life. What an opportunity. Yes, they will cry if you don't offer them the last Supreme apparel. The latest American-made-in-china smartphone. But you're not forced to educate your kids like most american does. In France we have a word for that "enfant roi" (king kid). Books offer you tools to think. TV, latest trends and twitch give you tools to boost your never-ending growth ego, self-esteem, self-approval, instant flood of dopamine gratification, and all this bullshit american psycho concepts.
krisroadruck 8y ago
And then we have this counter-quote from another great mind: "I never commit to memory anything that can easily be looked up in a book" - Albert Einstein
- modells 8y ago
  Yes and these days it's mostly s/book/wikipedia/

mrow84 8y ago

I, for one, find that quite hard to argue with. I guess that makes me tiresome company.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
m1573rp34130dy 8y ago
critical review is important, you shouldnt feel cowed against a rational argument, if we all agreed with each other then the first idea that occured would be accompanied by mutual consensus then we would snap to a halt and go nowhere with no variation or innovation

flatroze 8y ago

"And so it happens that the person who reads a great deal — that is to say, almost the whole day, and recreates himself by spending the intervals in thoughtless diversion, gradually loses the ability to think for himself; just as a man who is always riding at last forgets how to walk." Source: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/chapter3.html https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/...

madeuptempacct 8y ago

Reading is a balance - not reading in childhood is missing out. Reading too much as an adult is running away from life, much like TV and video games. On the other hand, I am reading the Three Body Problem now, and I am learning some history and being forced to remember scientific principles I didn't review since high school. So I guess the lesson is quality and not doing too much of it. I stopped reading sci-fi that didn't win the Nebula (or whatever it's called) award. Just not worth the time.

_nothing 8y ago
Kids today miss out if they're not online (which largely takes place on phones) and on social media. They miss out in social interaction, which is arguably even more vital to their development than reading books. Even when I was younger, so many interactions outside of school took place on AIM-- whole friendships and relationships were built off of these online interactions. Nowadays kids have to be on top of the latest viral trends and YouTube videos and Twitch streams in order to keep up with what their friends are talking about. Like it or not, the digital world is pretty much essential for kids these days.
- cheezburger 8y ago
  They miss out the dogma way of life. What an opportunity. Yes, they will cry if you don't offer them the last Supreme apparel. The latest American-made-in-china smartphone. But you're not forced to educate your kids like most american does. In France we have a word for that "enfant roi" (king kid). Books offer you tools to think. TV, latest trends and twitch give you tools to boost your never-ending growth ego, self-esteem, self-approval, instant flood of dopamine gratification, and all this bullshit american psycho concepts.

krisroadruck 8y ago

And then we have this counter-quote from another great mind: "I never commit to memory anything that can easily be looked up in a book" - Albert Einstein

modells 8y ago
Yes and these days it's mostly s/book/wikipedia/