Dont you think reading books is stupid?
May 30, 2009
Posted by Nick Sarno
The other day I typed “reading books is stupid” into google. I don’t know why. I must have thought reading books was stupid at the time. One of the first results was this exchange at Yahoo! Answers (go here to read the full exchange):
Dont you think reading books is stupid?
such as fiction.
people say it makes you smarter, and i ask how?
they say it increases your imagination and helps you think outside the box, and i argue 2 strong points:
math and science will only benefit us (mankind) because once your dead your pointless knowledge of those pointless books will die too.
sure, it might make your imagination better and help you think outside the box, but you can do that through other useful ways like math, science, and chess.
i also hate it when people act as if they’re smarter than you because they read more than you do.
for example:
“so… so you read?”
“no, i think its pointless”
and then they wouldnt talk to you and theyd probably gossip behind your back
give me your feedback on this
Answers
Katherine H: No! I do not think reading is stupid! I know that someday everyone dies and that their knowledge goes with them, but if not for literature all would be lost and we wouldn’t know what the Greeks thought of the moon and the planets they discovered. We also wouldn’t know that the Mayans existed and we wouldn’t be able to read the works of Plutarch ( I think that’s how you spell his name, sorry to the others out there who care about literature if it’s not spelled correctly). Also if we didn’t read of write you couldn’t complain about reading and I wouldn’t have ever read your question to answer it. Also if there wasn’t books math couldn’t be recorded science couldn’t be written about. Also with math and science the Mayans couldn’t have written about how the world will end December 20, 2012, Lastly science and math couldn’t exist successfully if we couldn’t write and record our findings. So give it some thought and really think about weather or not reading is pointless.
Ellie R: There’s no need to be so mad at the world of literature. Reading fiction can help with your vocabulary and is it also something that can be used as a topic of conversation an common hobby for friends (just like chess and whatever else). It’s just a hobby for some people and a bore for others but that doesn’t mean it’s stupid it just means it’s not for everyone.
kl33t: You’re very ignorant. They are smarter than you because they read..It doesn’t matter if a book is fiction or not, you will still learn something from it. Not only does reading increase your imagination, but also your vocabulary and your grammar. You think outside the box and use your imagination WAY more in reading a fiction book.. I’ve never used imagination while doing a math or science problem. Everything goes away after you die, sir. So, why are you even alive if this is how you’re thinking? It will all go away one day.. why do school, why have friends, why have a family? IT WILL ALL BE GONE ONE DAY. Not like you would know any of that, because you obviously won’t take the time to read a book, because you would enjoy it, and recognize the benefits of it.
September 29, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Everyone that responded to this question is completly mentally challenged. I cant believe that you would ever waste your time reading when you could easily be doing something productive and not gender confused. People that read books most likely have no friends in the real world so they have to use their imagination so that they can jerk off to their fantasy girlfriends. And whoever that jerk off that said that it helps your vocabulary, you probably have no one you could even use it with. No one wants to hear your bullshit words that mean the same fucking thing as other words but just longer. So i hope that you take away from this that you are all stupid bitches that are stuck in your “i am so smart i can read” world, and you need to shut the fuck up.
September 30, 2009 at 9:47 am
Hey there getsome.com jesus christ–
Pretty impressive response, at least emotionally speaking. I don’t think you’re providing much substance to back up your resentment, however. It seems like the biggest point you’re trying to make is that people who read books think they’re smart, read books that confuse gender and don’t have friends to talk to and jerk off while they’re reading because they’re lonely. I’m struck by the fact that you a) are reading on the Internet and b) writing on the Internet, as all of you complaints are applicable to the Internet (in particular), namely: the Internet confuses gender constantly and (I would add) often contributes to regressive gender stereotyping; the Internet is also a synthetic venue which people tend to visit while ‘alone,’ people often touch themselves while looking at the Internet and the Internet is often criticized for preventing real, tangible social interaction. It can be a very pretentious place (in which people boast their smarts–something you clearly object to, despite assuming an admonishing and pejorative tone of ‘holier than thou’).
At any rate. I don’t mind your tone. While a little foolish, I think it’s funny that you were so riled up by such a small point. I’ll nevertheless admit a suspicion that you’re upset about something else rather than the absurd and comical position that books are useless. (Would you feel better about a kindle? And seriously, have you never read a book in your life? I challenge you to avoid reading signs, menus, Internet, all of that. Is literacy elitist? Do you think films/movies/music/visual art/plays/jesus are any different? All of those places afford a culture, forums in which people build traditions in order to communicate in one way or another. And really, books are probably one of the more humble (and often non-judgmental) forms of cultural consumption/communication.)
That said,
thanks for the post-
c
November 20, 2009 at 9:27 am
i think reading is stupid especially when u have to read 30 minutes of it. it’s so pointless because most people know how to read after grade 3 so it makes no sense to keep reading day after day. BORING!!!
November 20, 2009 at 9:32 am
sorry correct my self grad 4