On reading books - regularly and with variety - I am also convinced of its necessity, especially in the current information landscape where most people are stuck in the equivalent of a media particle accelerator.
While researching for my next article, I came across this quote in Neil Postman's 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to Death:
"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism."
Postman argued in the book that society was most likely heading towards a Huxleyan world. That the rapid technological shift, notably from print to television, had already shifted the information paradigm towards an entertainment-centric information landscape.
Fast forward to the 2020's, Postman's position is still valid but we have also seen Orwellian tendencies on top of it all; censorship, historical revisionism, books removed from schools, and the like.
Even though the future looks bleak sometimes, I am still hopeful that there is an appetite in our societies ready for an intellectual renaissance.
I loved this article, thank you! You touch on something I talk about often: seek out what you don't understand. I know it’s so hard. I know we’re wired to avoid things that are difficult and confusing… But our brains actually love the exercise that comes from confronting things we don’t know.
On reading books - regularly and with variety - I am also convinced of its necessity, especially in the current information landscape where most people are stuck in the equivalent of a media particle accelerator.
While researching for my next article, I came across this quote in Neil Postman's 1985 book Amusing Ourselves to Death:
"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism."
Postman argued in the book that society was most likely heading towards a Huxleyan world. That the rapid technological shift, notably from print to television, had already shifted the information paradigm towards an entertainment-centric information landscape.
Fast forward to the 2020's, Postman's position is still valid but we have also seen Orwellian tendencies on top of it all; censorship, historical revisionism, books removed from schools, and the like.
Even though the future looks bleak sometimes, I am still hopeful that there is an appetite in our societies ready for an intellectual renaissance.
I love this. The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.
I loved this article, thank you! You touch on something I talk about often: seek out what you don't understand. I know it’s so hard. I know we’re wired to avoid things that are difficult and confusing… But our brains actually love the exercise that comes from confronting things we don’t know.