3 ms·

I remember reading the story for the first time and my feelings of pity and horror when the protagonist's decline began. With lifespans increasing, many of us

I remember reading the story for the first time and my feelings of pity and horror when the protagonist's decline began. With lifespans increasing, many of us will have Charlie's experience.

xNeil 3y ago
It is quite the impactful story. Saw it under a Twitter (X) thread on IQ and orders of thinking - worth the read.
techwizrd 3y ago
We read this aloud together in grade school. I skipped ahead and thoroughly regretted it. The class was still in the hopeful portion, and I had to watch them come to the same realization I did. When you're that young, you're used to the idea that you will constantly learn, grow, and expand your horizons. The idea of regression is both real and likely is frightening and motivating. It's truly a story that has stuck with me.
- myth2018 3y ago
  That's an interesting insight. I didn't notice that Charlie's trajectory also works as an allegory for the regular mental decline of the average person
  - sorokod 3y ago
    Charlie's trajectory may be your trajectory, not as an allegory. You may be that average person.
    - mrexroad 3y ago
      s/allegory/analogy/ It may just be a side effect of my dyslexia coping, but I read it as ‘analogy’ until reading your comment. Even then, I’m am pretty sure everyone knew they meant ‘analogy’ and just moved on. It’s okay to point out mistakes, but please be civil when doing so.
      - myth2018 3y ago
        Hi, but I meant allegory indeed. According to Wiktionary: - (rhetoric) A narrative in which a character, place, or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. - A picture, book, or other form of communication using such representation. - A symbolic representation which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, usually a moral or political one. He might have been triggered by my use of "average". I realize it now that it may not have been adequate, sorry for that, English is not my first language.
        mrexroad 3y ago
        My bad, my dyslexia and reacting to less-than polite comment got best of me :)
    - IggleSniggle 3y ago
      It wouldn't be allegory if it didn't apply to the majority of the bell curve. I'm not sure why you say "not an allegory." If Flowers for Algernon wasn't a story with something to teach us about our own lives, then I don't think so many of us would find it interesting. The only reason some people escape this fate is that they die too young.
  - magnio 3y ago
    > the regular mental decline of the average person of every person
    - keiferski 3y ago
      I don't think that's true at all. Most people die before they fall to the level of intelligence the character does near the end of the novel. Even many 90-year olds are still fairly lucid.
      - Fricken 3y ago
        The key word is 'allegory'
    - ebiester 3y ago
      ...if they live long enough. (Pedantically, that decline may take less than 15 seconds.)
vouaobrasil 3y ago
Indeed. I wish I could have been born in a world where I could use my skills for survival in the forests and die younger but have a more fulfilling life. Modern technological society is a disappointment, even if I am more comfortable.
- qgin 3y ago
  You could get pretty close if you wanted to
  - vouaobrasil 3y ago
    Not really. There are very few wild areas left, especially in warmer areas. Much of the natural resources of these areas are contaminated such as water. Natural areas are often government-managed or privately owned. Gone are the days where you could wander off into the wild and just live as some of the indigineous tribes used to.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      You could live as long as you wanted on BLM land, as long as you kept moving. Of course, you'd probably die pretty quickly, but nobody would stop you. The chance of living on a proverbial paradisal desert island isn't available anymore; those places are desirable!
      - stevenwoo 3y ago
        Nomadland documents the writer and an entire subpopulation (working, not going to die) moving along BLM lands to seasonal agricultural jobs and warehouse jobs and National Park service jobs, it sounds kind of exhausting and precarious, not very different from struggling in a single day job.
      - hirvi74 3y ago
        > BLM What does this mean? I doubt it stands for the political acronym that first comes to my mind.

I remember reading the story for the first time and my feelings of pity and horror when the protagonist's decline began. With lifespans increasing, many of us will have Charlie's experience.

xNeil 3y ago

It is quite the impactful story. Saw it under a Twitter (X) thread on IQ and orders of thinking - worth the read.

techwizrd 3y ago

We read this aloud together in grade school. I skipped ahead and thoroughly regretted it. The class was still in the hopeful portion, and I had to watch them come to the same realization I did. When you're that young, you're used to the idea that you will constantly learn, grow, and expand your horizons. The idea of regression is both real and likely is frightening and motivating. It's truly a story that has stuck with me.

myth2018 3y ago
That's an interesting insight. I didn't notice that Charlie's trajectory also works as an allegory for the regular mental decline of the average person
- sorokod 3y ago
  Charlie's trajectory may be your trajectory, not as an allegory. You may be that average person.
  - mrexroad 3y ago
    s/allegory/analogy/ It may just be a side effect of my dyslexia coping, but I read it as ‘analogy’ until reading your comment. Even then, I’m am pretty sure everyone knew they meant ‘analogy’ and just moved on. It’s okay to point out mistakes, but please be civil when doing so.
    - myth2018 3y ago
      Hi, but I meant allegory indeed. According to Wiktionary: - (rhetoric) A narrative in which a character, place, or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences. - A picture, book, or other form of communication using such representation. - A symbolic representation which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, usually a moral or political one. He might have been triggered by my use of "average". I realize it now that it may not have been adequate, sorry for that, English is not my first language.
      - mrexroad 3y ago
        My bad, my dyslexia and reacting to less-than polite comment got best of me :)
  - IggleSniggle 3y ago
    It wouldn't be allegory if it didn't apply to the majority of the bell curve. I'm not sure why you say "not an allegory." If Flowers for Algernon wasn't a story with something to teach us about our own lives, then I don't think so many of us would find it interesting. The only reason some people escape this fate is that they die too young.
- magnio 3y ago
  > the regular mental decline of the average person of every person
  - keiferski 3y ago
    I don't think that's true at all. Most people die before they fall to the level of intelligence the character does near the end of the novel. Even many 90-year olds are still fairly lucid.
    - Fricken 3y ago
      The key word is 'allegory'
  - ebiester 3y ago
    ...if they live long enough. (Pedantically, that decline may take less than 15 seconds.)

vouaobrasil 3y ago

Indeed. I wish I could have been born in a world where I could use my skills for survival in the forests and die younger but have a more fulfilling life. Modern technological society is a disappointment, even if I am more comfortable.

qgin 3y ago
You could get pretty close if you wanted to
- vouaobrasil 3y ago
  Not really. There are very few wild areas left, especially in warmer areas. Much of the natural resources of these areas are contaminated such as water. Natural areas are often government-managed or privately owned. Gone are the days where you could wander off into the wild and just live as some of the indigineous tribes used to.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    You could live as long as you wanted on BLM land, as long as you kept moving. Of course, you'd probably die pretty quickly, but nobody would stop you. The chance of living on a proverbial paradisal desert island isn't available anymore; those places are desirable!
    - stevenwoo 3y ago
      Nomadland documents the writer and an entire subpopulation (working, not going to die) moving along BLM lands to seasonal agricultural jobs and warehouse jobs and National Park service jobs, it sounds kind of exhausting and precarious, not very different from struggling in a single day job.
    - hirvi74 3y ago
      > BLM What does this mean? I doubt it stands for the political acronym that first comes to my mind.