Show me what you mean

I have begun the book, The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore. The introduction was surprisingly good. I usually browse through most introductions but this one made me stop and read. Appropriate; as he was explaining the differences in how we process data when we read compared to acquiring data by watching television. As someone who grew up reading and listening to the radio, and didn’t see a television till I was 9 or older, I could understand the differences. Viewing the black hieroglyphics (letters) that are placed upon paper and then constructing whole words and sentences out of these symbols takes different ‘mental muscles’ than those used for viewing a moving picture, complete with audio.

That’s probably why so many of us dislike movies made from the great books we have read. Our minds constructed so much more from the printed word, more than any director, producer or actor could ever provide.

I didn’t realize that Mr. Gore’s book could be more accurately titled, My Assault on Television. That’s my take on it so far; that could change. But he explains that we have to take television very seriously as the average American watches 4.5 hours of it every day. That’s serious. And we all know how newspapers are losing readership. Library closings are common. And everyone worships the ‘sound bite’.

The dangers as he sees it is that because we use the ‘lazy’ method of acquiring data; watching television, we don’t really get it. It’s like hors’ de‘vours and not a sit-down dinner. And we’re satisfied. Why?

Just think about all of the snippets of data you have heard or seen and because you haven’t researched (read) anything more about them, you assume them to be true. Now that's scary!

After saying that, I can’t help but think about the History Channel and its fans. Millions of people believe in God, the Bible and the History Channel; all in that order. (It’s very popular on the Planet Orland) Would anyone of them pick up a book and read about history? No, a 30 minute segment is just the right size! And what bothers me most is the fact that there is no way to rebut what is being broadcast as the ‘truth’ on this channel. There is no Alternate History Channel.

Want to know what kind of reader you are? Here's mine...

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

I'm not sure what it all means, but the quiz is too short for it to mean much at all.