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Might be politically incorrect to say but if you are a kid and your home living situation is one where you don't have access to the Internet and there is no pub

Might be politically incorrect to say but if you are a kid and your home living situation is one where you don't have access to the Internet and there is no public library that is nearby - chances are that your financial situation is quite poor. If you are willing to invest your time in reading - then any book that is being targeted by the current culture war is very likely to be an inefficient use of your time. Focus on books that will generate maximum value for you to become a productive member of society, who can be rewarded for the value that you bring to an organization, or learn topics that will enable you to build a business that provides value to paying customers. Inflation is rising and times are going to get tough for you and your family. Provocative topics are for rich kids.

plouffy 5y ago
Am I getting whooshed ? This is surely satire.
not-my-account 5y ago
Who is to say if that is politically correct, but I think your statement is certainly wrong. > If you are willing to invest your time in reading - then any book that is being targeted by the current culture war is very likely to be an inefficient use of your time. Focus on books that will generate maximum value for you to become a productive member of society, who can be rewarded for the value that you bring to an organization, or learn topics that will enable you to build a business that provides value to paying customers. The article is about a book being banned in middle school. If you were in grade 8 concerned with whether the books you are reading will give direct profit to an organization, more power to you. But this isn’t the way that the majority of eighth graders think (nor the way that they should think). The value of fiction books may be less direct that non-fiction reference (to which I assume you are referring, happy to be corrected), but the value is there nevertheless. A great banned fiction book is To Kill A Mockingbird- it has strong themes of right and wrong, justice, and of youth. Though I may have not identified those directly when I read it (in ~grade 8), it was fascinating and made me very excited to read. Just because the value is longer term, doesn’t mean that it is of lower value.
vlovich123 5y ago
I think a breadth of reading material provides intrinsic value that a myopic “does this provide a financial reward” kind of view does not. Indeed, I think the former probably ends up outperforming the latter financially in the long run when paired with good career choices. Why? Breadth of material read encourages critical thinking, empathy, and consideration of view points not your own. As long as the material is challenging to read (develops your reading level) and well-written (spurs your imagination and ability to consider other viewpoints even if you disagree).
CRConrad 5y ago
Not so much "politically ", more just incorrect, period. What you're saying is basically "If you're poor, you shouldn't bother with thinking, you should just concentrate on becoming a productive wage slave". Here's hoping you were being sarcastic... But honestly, I don't have much hope.

plouffy 5y ago

Am I getting whooshed ? This is surely satire.

not-my-account 5y ago

Who is to say if that is politically correct, but I think your statement is certainly wrong. > If you are willing to invest your time in reading - then any book that is being targeted by the current culture war is very likely to be an inefficient use of your time. Focus on books that will generate maximum value for you to become a productive member of society, who can be rewarded for the value that you bring to an organization, or learn topics that will enable you to build a business that provides value to paying customers. The article is about a book being banned in middle school. If you were in grade 8 concerned with whether the books you are reading will give direct profit to an organization, more power to you. But this isn’t the way that the majority of eighth graders think (nor the way that they should think). The value of fiction books may be less direct that non-fiction reference (to which I assume you are referring, happy to be corrected), but the value is there nevertheless. A great banned fiction book is To Kill A Mockingbird- it has strong themes of right and wrong, justice, and of youth. Though I may have not identified those directly when I read it (in ~grade 8), it was fascinating and made me very excited to read. Just because the value is longer term, doesn’t mean that it is of lower value.

vlovich123 5y ago

I think a breadth of reading material provides intrinsic value that a myopic “does this provide a financial reward” kind of view does not. Indeed, I think the former probably ends up outperforming the latter financially in the long run when paired with good career choices. Why? Breadth of material read encourages critical thinking, empathy, and consideration of view points not your own. As long as the material is challenging to read (develops your reading level) and well-written (spurs your imagination and ability to consider other viewpoints even if you disagree).

CRConrad 5y ago

Not so much "politically ", more just incorrect, period. What you're saying is basically "If you're poor, you shouldn't bother with thinking, you should just concentrate on becoming a productive wage slave". Here's hoping you were being sarcastic... But honestly, I don't have much hope.