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Wandering the web stacks, or, fighting intellectual atrophy on the internet
- jseliger 17y agoIn some ways, the author is describing problems similar to those Julian Sanchez discussed in The Perils of Pop Philosophy (which I discuss in turn here: http://jseliger.com/2009/06/01/highly-recommended-the-perils-of-pop-philosophy http://jseliger.com/2009/06/01/highly-recommended-the-perils... ). As Sanchez says: "Those are real enough, but there’s also the problem that the general glut of information and opinion makes it disconcertingly easy to kid yourself about how well you understand a particular topic." Skimming vacuous websites won't get us to knowledge, and at this point, reading books more often will. The trick is being able to find the pointers to the books you should read, which I think the web is very good at, and which I try to contribute to in my own small way.
- ascuttlefish 17y agoThanks for the great tips. I've been bored with the usual suspects in my bookmarks, and have returned to reading dead trees again. I'm loving it! But I suspect your advice here will help me rejuvenate my love affair with the internet.