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Have you ever enjoyed a meal? A movie? Done anything at all other than for mindless entertainment or gathering information? Admired a sunset or bought flowers?
by ceilingcorner 6y ago
Have you ever enjoyed a meal? A movie? Done anything at all other than for mindless entertainment or gathering information? Admired a sunset or bought flowers?
Literature is an art form. It is almost by definition not practical.
- brokencode 6y agoUh, of course I’ve enjoyed those things. And I’ve enjoyed many books too. I’m saying that the idea of critical reading of books seems pointless to me, because I see them only as entertainment. I also don’t really enjoy puzzles, so if a book is a puzzle to figure out, and people enjoy the act of decoding them for its own sake, then I can see what I’m missing. I do like solving technical problems, and that’s why I’m a programmer, but I don’t really get much enjoyment from solving problems that wouldn’t benefit me or others to solve.
- ceilingcorner 6y agoThere’s a pretty big difference between art and entertainment. Paradise Lost and Harry Potter aren’t exactly in the same category.
- brokencode 6y agoSure, but is your argument that I should enjoy great art simply because it’s considered great? Surely there are reasons even for art.