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I jotted it down in seconds and have limited experience with some parts of the world. India absolutely has one of the longest poetic traditions and it fascinat

I jotted it down in seconds and have limited experience with some parts of the world. India absolutely has one of the longest poetic traditions and it fascinates me endlessly. I’d have been remiss to say that’s all that qualifies in my mind. That’s why I said it was not at all the end of what I’d consider an intellectual society. I’m hesitant to bring present-day Russia into it as I qualified with “continuing”. I say this as someone who studied Russian literature when I was younger. Again, please don’t discount my qualifiers above. It was by no means a survey list—just meant to illustrate my main point with societies I do have experience with.

oarabbus_ 7y ago
Thanks for the explanation. I realize that my post may have come off as antagonistic (the downvotes from others certainly seem to suggest that), but really I was just trying to understand your rationale. I edited my post to hopefully sound less antagonistic.
- seamyb88 7y ago
  Don't worry about down votes. You can replenish all with a witty quip. You can also undo the replenishing with a witty quip. Don't worry about down votes. I look for the down-voted, as the controversial ones are where I like to start. I'll give you an upvote because I've been to India for academic purposes.
Mediterraneo10 7y ago
India is a difficult country for outsiders to gauge its level of intellectual culture. I know India has an ancient tradition of religious learning and philosophy based on the study of texts. It has produced 20th-century novelists that are known the whole world over. And yet when I spent a year traveling all over India, there seemed to be so few bookshops even in upper-class districts, and so little reading in public. I could only conclude that reading and the intellectual life was the pursuit of only a small minority, but because of India’s huge population, even that small minority was large enough to be self-sustaining and make its impact, even if it was rather hidden away from sight.

oarabbus_ 7y ago

Thanks for the explanation. I realize that my post may have come off as antagonistic (the downvotes from others certainly seem to suggest that), but really I was just trying to understand your rationale. I edited my post to hopefully sound less antagonistic.

seamyb88 7y ago
Don't worry about down votes. You can replenish all with a witty quip. You can also undo the replenishing with a witty quip. Don't worry about down votes. I look for the down-voted, as the controversial ones are where I like to start. I'll give you an upvote because I've been to India for academic purposes.

Mediterraneo10 7y ago

India is a difficult country for outsiders to gauge its level of intellectual culture. I know India has an ancient tradition of religious learning and philosophy based on the study of texts. It has produced 20th-century novelists that are known the whole world over. And yet when I spent a year traveling all over India, there seemed to be so few bookshops even in upper-class districts, and so little reading in public. I could only conclude that reading and the intellectual life was the pursuit of only a small minority, but because of India’s huge population, even that small minority was large enough to be self-sustaining and make its impact, even if it was rather hidden away from sight.