Does reading make us wiser?

@Oylok,

Oylok wrote:

north wrote:

reading only makes us wiser , if we can question and voice it

I agree, north. Reading is only the beginning. If you read something you agree with you should be able to defend it against opposing viewpoints. And if you disagree with something, you should be able to articulate your case against it. That's why discussion and debate are so important. I've read numerous texts on economic theory, but because I never defended the texts against their critics, I forgot what all the points the books made were.

you have become wiser

Quote:

Even if the person with whom you're discussing a book has never read the book, he or she may still be able to point out something obvious that you have missed.

very true

a rare perspective

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Quote:

Does reading make us wiser?

Guess not...it just shows how wise we are already...

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@spidergal,

spidergal wrote:

Just generally curious - what are the advantages of being well-read over not being well-read? And who exactly would you consider well-read?

The answer should be quite obvious and simple.

A rainforest indian who never read or studied simple school stuff, would never know how of galaxies, comets, astroids, geology, seismic waves, areodymanics, radio waves, first aid, octane, goverment, secrurity ..etc ..etc ..very basic things we take for granted, it doesn't have to be a written media, it could be radio or TV, internet, Youtube ..etc.

What is the advantage? Would you like to have an ignorent person to do surgery on you, or a schooled doctor who took surgery as a special?

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@HexHammer,

HexHammer wrote:

spidergal wrote:

Just generally curious - what are the advantages of being well-read over not being well-read? And who exactly would you consider well-read?
The answer should be quite obvious and simple.

A rainforest indian who never read or studied simple school stuff, would never know how of galaxies, comets, astroids, geology, seismic waves, areodymanics, radio waves, first aid, octane, goverment, secrurity ..etc ..etc ..very basic things we take for granted, it doesn't have to be a written media, it could be radio or TV, internet, Youtube ..etc.

What is the advantage? Would you like to have an ignorent person to do surgery on you, or a schooled doctor who took surgery as a special?

I think you got it all wrong... The one true wisdom is how to relate, because to those who master relationships, all is possible... Many people master technology and science and even philosophy because they cannot relate, but if they can never relate, no matter how powerful or financially secure they become, they can never know happiness; and happiness is the goal of goals in life...

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So ..again this Spidegal is absent.

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for the most part yes

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Hmmmm ..so SG is just a waste of time.

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@spidergal,

Well, it depends, if you're reading something that actually has a purpose, then it is good, but if youre reading a worthless book thats taking time away from real life situations, then its bad. And I absolutely love reading and all, I want to be an author, but my head is not allways stuck in a book.

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@spidergal,

It does as much as living does...obviously nor living fully nor reading much prevents the amount of stupidity in the world being the same old constant it always were...of course the official feedback on the matter while selling you a ticket to any print machine major degree is not interested in clarifying the matter at all...
...nowadays wisdom is treated very much in the same way cannibalism was though to let you acquire your enemy's powers by eating them, that is, there is this persistent naive belief that formal education can magically transform dumbness in sageness while the fact of the matter is that consumerism doesn't rime with wisdom nor does the amount of books you read say much about what you really know...finally that all said and explained doesn't intend as a facile critique against avid reading or against scholars in doing what they really like to do, but then again just clarifying a subtle tautology that perhaps by being so is somewhat easily forgotten and on which it can be stated that reading is useful when it is, when there is a match between what someone needs and wants to know and some medium that can teach it...what is not at all easy of evaluating and mostly hard for those who claim to want something that they don't yet posses is to know what people really want to know as wanting in itself requires an a priori perception of whatever is wanted in a cycling process of constant refinement of the object of knowledge we aim at...the emotional vagueness of stating a need based on the strength of a feeling or a sensation does not clarify any other then there is a need going on without a precise object in mind...there's nothing harder in life then getting to do the right questions to eventually achieve the correct answers...

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@Fil Albuquerque,

If living as in experiencing life, then I think that experience makes us wiser, prominently more, than just reading. A person can read a great number of books but without applying that acquired knowledge to real life experiences, it doesn't make the person any wiser than when (s)he first started reading. However, you are correct in saying that education is not the ultimate cure to folly.

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@Enzo,

Agreed..above what was said intended to clarify that having a heart beat being alive and babbling does not equate with truly living life to the full as in the same way reading sentences in a book is not synonymous whith understanding whatever is meant to be conveyed in it...in fact there are zombies out there ! Smile

...In turn I don't believe in the common distinction between practical and theoretical but only that bad theory's don't make practical anything s and practical redundancy don't convey a much practical depth to things when depth is required to be practical...

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@Fil Albuquerque,

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@Setanta,

Setanta wrote:

When you've finished reading something particularly wise, does it leave you all pithed off?

Is that why reading many of your posts leaves me pithed off? Mr. Green

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@JLNobody,

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I doubt very much it's about the number of books one reads that makes one wiser. One must have the ability to discern what is good or bad prose, logic, facts, and the thinking being portrayed.

Since the foundation of education is from reading, it's important to get as broad an education as possible about this world.

Applying common sense to most of what you read and consume are as important as your education about general knowledge, street smarts, ethics, and humanity.

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@vikorr,

vikorr wrote:

Hi North,

One of the 'problems' with the young, in relation to wisdom,
is that until somewhere between 21-25 the human brain hasn't fully
developed it's decision making skills.

Speak for yourself.

David

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@spidergal,

I think when a person reads he gets to know about lot many things. He gets to know many facts and so many places in the world where one can easily travel to. One more benefit is one's vocabulary will be just awesome. So all this suggests that one can be wiser.

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What I have found through my experience, is that from birth to the age, of the minimum, 20 one should developed ones reasoning, on shallow bits of knowledge

Then enter schooling at this age of 20, or there abouts

But of course this does not happen, we enter schooling much younger

My point is that the ability to reason on your own terms is important because this is the foundation of your skill to reason

Then educate me further, since I have my grounding as to what I see as true

Now this does not mean that I am not open minded , just that I can question
more and more reasonably

Reading does make us wiser but we are wiser if we can reason with an open mind but at the same time have a grounding of thought which is ours first , so that we cannot be sucked into just any old doctrine

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Only if what you read is put into actions if deemed worthy of your belief systems. At sixty I am wiser than at sixteen and reading massive amounts of materials, some not incorporated into my life but understanding of others. I only incorporate that which I deem worthy, positive, and informative.

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@north,

I think reading is a necessary component to improve ones skill to reason, but it can also produce negative consequences.

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Does reading make us wiser?

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