"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge" #Quote Isaac Asimov

#intellectualism #USA #Culture #Ignorance

“Maybe that’s why I tend to equate physical beauty with qualities with which it has absolutely nothing to do. I see a pretty mouth or a moody pair of eyes and imagine all sorts of deep affinities, private kinships. Never mind that half a dozen jerks are clustered round the same person, just because they’ve been duped by the same pair of eyes.” — *[Francis] “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt*

With respect to being well-read, or educated, it is not just about the exercise of reading, but rather it has to do with an ability to engage with the material, to have the capacity to reflect on the writing and debate its meaning.

Because then, you can translate it to your own experience and further transform how you see the world and your place in it.

#intellectualism #academia #highered #education #selfimprovement #reading #wisdom

When you Don’t Like Books
https://youtu.be/jlqrdaWlWfM

It’s rare that I don’t finish a book, but there have been a few. Most recently I put down The Black Swan because I felt it was a poorly written self agrandizing work written so that Taleb could show how smart he was while making up new names for established principles.

Even when I do finish a book, I don’t lik
https://curtismchale.ca/2025/02/08/when-you-dont-like-books/
#3Threads #books #intellectualism #performance #reading

When you Don’t Like Books

It’s rare that I don’t finish a book, but there have been a few. Most recently I put down The Black Swan because I felt it was a poorly written self agrandizing work written so that Taleb could show how smart he was while making up new names for established principles.

Even when I do finish a book, I don’t like everything I read. In many cases my dislike of a book feels fine and I move on to the next read without much thought. Sometimes though I dislike a book that you see recommended regularly so when I don’t find the book good I start to wonder if the problem is me instead of a poorly written book.

In the worst cases, someone has recommended a book and then follows up with me to see if I liked their recommendation. The thing about recommendations is that this is a cherished book, which is why it was recommended. My dislike of a book has brought out strong feelings in others who are then suddenly unhappy with me. I’ve even been told I “don’t get it” and should read the book again.

I didn’t like your recommendation

In the last few years I was recommended Jaws very highly, but I felt it was a dud. My first hint was that the co-author bringing the “science” brain to the equation was none other than Paul Ehrlich of The Population Bomb fame. This book predicted a population explosion that would destabilize the world. We’re long past his predictions but he’s still out there telling us why his new prediction is surely going to come true this time so we should still keep listening to him. The science in Jaws was thin and many of the observations made by the author were little more than thinly veiled eugenics style statements showing their bias.

My most awkward read was The Success Grower which was written by someone in a book club I was part of at the time. While I liked the overall content of the book, I found the dialogue forced numerous times. When I wrote that he reached out to talk with me and was quite pained I wouldn’t give the book a whole-hearted endorsement and wouldn’t change my statement about the language.

Unfortunately the recommender of Jaws has recommended other books to me as well and none of them have been excellent. One was okay, but I wasn’t going to change my writing style to match what was recommended. The other was a rehash of 3 other books I’ve read but with the author’s spin on it, which wasn’t original, but boy did they have a course to sell you.

I don’t like that famous book

Where I question myself the most is when I don’t like books that have mythological status among certain groups of people. The Black Swan falls into this realm, with Taleb being cited all over the place as an excellent author that we should be listening to.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is highly recommended but I found that most of the chapters simply play buzzword bingo. Because if it’s mythical status I read some chapters a few times trying to parse out the point and I still had no idea what was being talked about. I struggled to even write a few words in a notebook to prove that I had read the chapter. Yet for some reason Seven Habits makes lists of books you must read.

Another book that I liked, but didn’t find as impactful as anyone else I’ve seen talk about the book is Man’s Search For Meaning. Yes I found the book to be a good read, but the latter part of the book when Frankl dug into Logo Therapy had little value to me.

These last books are the ones that make me question myself as a reader. Am I simply too dumb to understand the target Taleb was aiming readers at with his book? Am I hopeless because Seven Habits didn’t change how I relate to people? Am I a bad person because I won’t tell you that the entirety of Frankl’s book is a must read?

Maybe You’re Right Though

It’s also entirely possible that I’m right and the famous book is a dud. That it only gets pushed because it has some momentum or because the author’s other techno-utopian bros paid for marketing and sing the books praises on their sites. Why do they do this, because they stand to make a bunch of money if the author is right so any push they can make towards people thinking your ideas are good means dollar signs for them.

Maybe you loved a specific book from an author, I loved Deep Work, but then find later books rehash stuff without adding much new to the pool of knowledge. In this case I felt for a long time that I was betraying Newport for finding his later works trivial and more suited to airport book sales than something that had any worthwhile affect on my life. I kept them on my bookshelf for a long time just out of some para-social relationship solidarity founded on the reading of a single book that did have an impact on me.

In the end the only arbiter of a good book is you. Did you like the book? Did it speak to you and help make you a better person? Did you enjoy it, despite the book being panned as “not serious” by others?

This extends to fiction as well. Yes I enjoyed Fourth Wing and no I’m not apologizing for it even though in some circles it’s panned as a generic fantasy book that simply adds some sex. I’ll happily read the next instalment and enjoy it without apology.

Yes I write about reading and books, but I need to drop the fear that someone reading this will think I’m dumb because I didn’t like a book they liked. Much like performative reading goals reading the right books just to “look smart” is performative. Saying you found those “right” books impactful to retain a seat in some fictional intellectual club is performative. My day won’t change if someone reading this thinks I’m not smart and unsubscribes.

My kids will still love me.

My dog will want me to throw her ball.

My wife will still be here.

And those next to us are what matter far more than any internet intellectual points earned by reading and “getting” the right books.

#books #intellectualism #performance #reading

With the #election of the #EuropeanParlement nearby, lets remember this quote by Isaac Asimov:

“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”

#EP24 #EP2024 #democracy #intellectualism

#Rightwing #conspiracy #lunatic #StewPeters believes that a legitimate, viable solution to the complex problems at our southern #border is to line the border with #soldiers, and have them indiscriminately gun down anyone who attempts to cross into America (a maximum B misdemeanor civil offense). This is what passes for #intellectualism and #policy on the right. Just suspend the #Constitution and ignore established #SupremeCourt #precedent related to use of force. 🤦‍♂️

https://www.alternet.org/influencer-shooting-aid-workers-2666122215

It seems to me there is a predilection in modern science fiction to discount all utopias but not to do the same with the dystopias. While I agree that utopias are generally out of reach for societies, there seems to be no balancing idea that dystopias are also out of reach. Indeed, they seem quite obtainable if you are to listen to a lot science fiction.

Personally, I think utopias and dystopias are both out of the question for our society in any near future. The first is too perfect and the latter is too imperfect. What isn’t out of the question is improving and failing societies. Again I think people tend to latch onto the failing societies as the way things are going and dismiss improving societies as impossible fluff.

I think that this is largely the triumph of cynicism over intellectualism. This is where the cynics are considered realistic and thus more important than the intellectuals.

I think that the truth of the matter is that cynicism is easier. It is easier to point out problems than to actually fix them. The intellectual not only thinks of the problem, they provide a possible fix to the problem as well and that is harder. This is why I believe intellectuals deserve praise over cynics. As such I prefer the more optimistic entries in science fiction.

But probably the main reason that I would wish to see dystopian science fiction wiped out as much as possible is because politicians keep trying to use the worst of dystopian SF as something to aspire to. We don’t want big brother and we don’t want the handmaid’s tale. But we are at the risk of getting both at the same time! Some politicians do want this, and are too stupid to think of how to run such a society. So they are inspired by dystopian SF. Quit providing a blueprint!!!!!

If the politicians are successful, then the cynics can say their SF foresaw the future accurately. Which gives them even more street cred. This is why we must say intellectualism over cynicism, improving societies over failing societies and even utopias over dystopias!

#cynicism #cynicismRealism_ #DonTProvideABlueprintToDystopia #dystopias #failingSociety #fixingProblems #gettingBigBrotherAndTheHandmaidSTaleAtTheSameTime_ #IWantDystopianSFWipedOut #impossibleFluff_ #improvingSociety #intellectualism #modernScienceFiction #pointingOutProblems #tooImperfect #tooPerfect #utopias

https://larryrusswurm.com/2023/09/16/dystopias-over-utopias/