This post reminds me of a book I read some years ago by Neil Postman, “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in The Age of Show Business”. The Editorial Editor of my local newspaper recommended the book to me. First written in 1985, it was re-published in 2005. Postman wrote about the way electronic media was shaping our culture.
In the Forward of the book, Postman compares Orwell’s “1984” with Huxley’s “Brave New World”. . He says”Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity, and history...people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” In another couple of sentences further down the page, Postman says, “Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.” In fact, the Forward of the book spells out what we are seeing today. Amazing. That said, I keep the Forward of this book in my head as I look at the mess of social media.
I have spent the weekend reading a murder mystery. The protagonist is a woman who makes her living as a fishing guide and sometimes private investigator. The setting is Florida area of Ft. Myers/Captiva. The story is intertwined with Florida history and descriptions of flora and fauna. It’s a welcome break from the news cycle.
Much thanks for your wonderful words on the magic of reading physical books. Early in the electronic revolution I found reading books with an app on my iPad didn’t compare to reading hard-copy books. Even though I could underline and make notations in electronic books; it wasn’t the same for me as physically underling various passages resonating with my thoughts while bracketing/parsing out their particular parts. I also found the physical act of writing notes/annotations in a book’s margins and going back to read what I’d inscribed was a part integrating my thoughts/experiences of reading a book that Kindle didn’t. At first I thought it was just a dyslexic “oddity” I shared with a few other dyslexic folks I’d known. Later I figured out it was also a weird Derridian habit I’d acquired to slow down the speed reading habits I’d been taught as a youngster…
On the other hand, I’ve found having internet access to quickly lookup a word or notion I’m unfamiliar with is an indispensably tool to my physically reading a book. I’ve also found word “processing” an indispensable tool when I’m editing and clarifying my dyslexic thoughts when writing something. All of this reminds me in my simplistic understandings of late Heidegger’s concerns over losing our humanity to technology vs. using technology as an appropriate tool for a given task at hand. I think this is a very fine line we walk of maintaining our “humanity” while using our technology rather than becoming subsumed into “standing reserve” for mechanical exploitation by technology. I’m very grateful to Professor Snyder for his continual reminding us of the importance of shared historical backgrounds we need to evaluate and safely use our evolving technologies in “appropriate ways”. Much thanks for your effort to keep us focused on our shared, historical backgrounds…
Even a bad book is a better date than my newsfeed. Bob and I were in Chicago for something, and I got downstairs to the hotel café before he did with an interlibrary loan copy of Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer. As my first cup of the day kicked in, I stumbled on a particularly juicy insight involving Paul Cézanne and the way the brain works. Well, I love Chicago, library copies make me feel thrifty and look at me, I got it into my suitcase, onto the plane, into the hotel room and all the way here, caffeine…and, yes, the content of the book. I read something and thought "wow.: Stuck a napkin in it, closed it up and had quite the moment. The newly newly-arrived Bob had no idea what was going on. I had to explain that it was simply such a privilege to be able to read this book. Overcome. Please ignore Lehrer’s later issues and enjoy that one. Many years previously, I had found myself alone for several hours in the Colorado home of a childhood girlfriend’s partner. Were they all hiking in the mountains or trout fishing? I can’t remember. On his bookshelf, I found a first edition of Françoise Gilot’s 1964 Life with Picasso. There was to be no borrowing this book, so I finished it. You may have caught wind of this, but Pablo was not a nice guy. Getting to know him that day was an intense experience. Also in the “wonder what it would be like to be with that guy genre, read Stacy Schiff’s Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), one of Schiff’s best and I find hers spotty.
There is a pleasant ritual with books. One of mine is to read every book recommended to me by a friend, missing only about one in ten -- my way of saying, I care about what you care about.
I remember searching things on the internet. It's mostly because I like to ask big questions and then go in search of answers. I feel a sense of reward after discovering a nugget of human knowledge or truth. However that pursuit is very different than reading a book.
The difference for me is that a book is a romance. A love affair. I love the texture and smell of its pages. I love to feel its weight as I hold it in my hands.
As a side note. I am constantly asking myself the question "Do I know something? How do I know?" and usually concluding that I need more information. I need different perspectives. I like to revisit past topics and update my knowledge.
Thank you for the writings. I've enjoyed reading them.
Got sidetracked from 'Bloodlands' when 'The Power of the Powerless" with introduction by our very own Professor Snyder came in. So, yes, I am reading a great book this weekend and will be doing so next week as well! Thank you for showing us how to be free people, Professor Snyder!
Thank you so much for the post. With so many books out their.. how to find a good book...I really love to know you book recommendations (apart from you regular reviews) across variety of subjects..
I have a master’s degree in literature and barely read books anymore. I’m always scrolling. This makes me feel so sad and empty and I didn’t really know why. Until I read this. I think I have a lot of work to do to get my attention span back, but this post is a reminder that it’s worth it.
This post reminds me of a book I read some years ago by Neil Postman, “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in The Age of Show Business”. The Editorial Editor of my local newspaper recommended the book to me. First written in 1985, it was re-published in 2005. Postman wrote about the way electronic media was shaping our culture.
In the Forward of the book, Postman compares Orwell’s “1984” with Huxley’s “Brave New World”. . He says”Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity, and history...people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.” In another couple of sentences further down the page, Postman says, “Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.” In fact, the Forward of the book spells out what we are seeing today. Amazing. That said, I keep the Forward of this book in my head as I look at the mess of social media.
I have spent the weekend reading a murder mystery. The protagonist is a woman who makes her living as a fishing guide and sometimes private investigator. The setting is Florida area of Ft. Myers/Captiva. The story is intertwined with Florida history and descriptions of flora and fauna. It’s a welcome break from the news cycle.
Much thanks for your wonderful words on the magic of reading physical books. Early in the electronic revolution I found reading books with an app on my iPad didn’t compare to reading hard-copy books. Even though I could underline and make notations in electronic books; it wasn’t the same for me as physically underling various passages resonating with my thoughts while bracketing/parsing out their particular parts. I also found the physical act of writing notes/annotations in a book’s margins and going back to read what I’d inscribed was a part integrating my thoughts/experiences of reading a book that Kindle didn’t. At first I thought it was just a dyslexic “oddity” I shared with a few other dyslexic folks I’d known. Later I figured out it was also a weird Derridian habit I’d acquired to slow down the speed reading habits I’d been taught as a youngster…
On the other hand, I’ve found having internet access to quickly lookup a word or notion I’m unfamiliar with is an indispensably tool to my physically reading a book. I’ve also found word “processing” an indispensable tool when I’m editing and clarifying my dyslexic thoughts when writing something. All of this reminds me in my simplistic understandings of late Heidegger’s concerns over losing our humanity to technology vs. using technology as an appropriate tool for a given task at hand. I think this is a very fine line we walk of maintaining our “humanity” while using our technology rather than becoming subsumed into “standing reserve” for mechanical exploitation by technology. I’m very grateful to Professor Snyder for his continual reminding us of the importance of shared historical backgrounds we need to evaluate and safely use our evolving technologies in “appropriate ways”. Much thanks for your effort to keep us focused on our shared, historical backgrounds…
Please excuse mechanical typos & autocorrect strangeness...
Even a bad book is a better date than my newsfeed. Bob and I were in Chicago for something, and I got downstairs to the hotel café before he did with an interlibrary loan copy of Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer. As my first cup of the day kicked in, I stumbled on a particularly juicy insight involving Paul Cézanne and the way the brain works. Well, I love Chicago, library copies make me feel thrifty and look at me, I got it into my suitcase, onto the plane, into the hotel room and all the way here, caffeine…and, yes, the content of the book. I read something and thought "wow.: Stuck a napkin in it, closed it up and had quite the moment. The newly newly-arrived Bob had no idea what was going on. I had to explain that it was simply such a privilege to be able to read this book. Overcome. Please ignore Lehrer’s later issues and enjoy that one. Many years previously, I had found myself alone for several hours in the Colorado home of a childhood girlfriend’s partner. Were they all hiking in the mountains or trout fishing? I can’t remember. On his bookshelf, I found a first edition of Françoise Gilot’s 1964 Life with Picasso. There was to be no borrowing this book, so I finished it. You may have caught wind of this, but Pablo was not a nice guy. Getting to know him that day was an intense experience. Also in the “wonder what it would be like to be with that guy genre, read Stacy Schiff’s Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), one of Schiff’s best and I find hers spotty.
There is a pleasant ritual with books. One of mine is to read every book recommended to me by a friend, missing only about one in ten -- my way of saying, I care about what you care about.
I remember searching things on the internet. It's mostly because I like to ask big questions and then go in search of answers. I feel a sense of reward after discovering a nugget of human knowledge or truth. However that pursuit is very different than reading a book.
The difference for me is that a book is a romance. A love affair. I love the texture and smell of its pages. I love to feel its weight as I hold it in my hands.
As a side note. I am constantly asking myself the question "Do I know something? How do I know?" and usually concluding that I need more information. I need different perspectives. I like to revisit past topics and update my knowledge.
Thank you for the writings. I've enjoyed reading them.
Got sidetracked from 'Bloodlands' when 'The Power of the Powerless" with introduction by our very own Professor Snyder came in. So, yes, I am reading a great book this weekend and will be doing so next week as well! Thank you for showing us how to be free people, Professor Snyder!
Thank you so much for the post. With so many books out their.. how to find a good book...I really love to know you book recommendations (apart from you regular reviews) across variety of subjects..
Ibram X Kendi “ How to be an Anti-Racist“ What are you reading this weekend Dr. Snyder?’
I have a master’s degree in literature and barely read books anymore. I’m always scrolling. This makes me feel so sad and empty and I didn’t really know why. Until I read this. I think I have a lot of work to do to get my attention span back, but this post is a reminder that it’s worth it.