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Does reading books have intrinsic value, or is it just a specific (archaic?) way of transmitting information? Socrates would be a podcaster today
by sdwr 3mo ago
Does reading books have intrinsic value, or is it just a specific (archaic?) way of transmitting information? Socrates would be a podcaster today
- apsurd 3mo agowriting well is really hard. other mediums are other mediums. sure the new mediums have reach going for them, but im not sure socrates would’ve enjoyed or optimized for popularity.
- anitil 3mo ago> writing well is really hard I think because good writing is easier to read and understand than bad writing, there's almost an inverse relationship between how easy writing seems and how easy it is to read. So you read something and think "well, this is obvious" but the magic trick is how much work went in to making it so.
- basilikum 3mo agoThat's true for a lot of things. Skilled people make difficult things look easy.
- wartywhoa23 3mo agoEver heard about imagination?
- none2585 3mo agoI think specific, but not archaic. The written word can be beautiful like any other form of art - it's not only about transmitting information but transmitting emotion. Sorta like a photograph, painting, or song.
- michaelhoney 3mo agoYes, I think so. When you read a book you spend a long time with the ideas it contains. You think about the book when you go about your day: primed by what you're reading, you see new connections. You are in conversation with the book. Maybe parts of the book seep into your dreams. Years later, you might remember what you were doing when you read a particular passage. Much of this is because reading a book takes time.
- ealawe 3mo agoYes, as other's have pointed, its just really hard to write well, I have thought that books are just an inefficient medium, but once I started reading more broadly, outside of computer topics, I discovered that engineers are just horrible writers.
- FreakLegion 3mo agoAre you under the impression Socrates wrote anything in the first place?
- ytoawwhra92 3mo agoAnd people don't believe we're in a literacy crisis. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48532053 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48532053