Comments on: ‘On not winning the Nobel Prize’ http://culturematters.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/%e2%80%98on-not-winning-the-nobel-prize%e2%80%99/ Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:11:25 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: elementaryteacher http://culturematters.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/%e2%80%98on-not-winning-the-nobel-prize%e2%80%99/#comment-3266 elementaryteacher Sun, 27 Jan 2008 12:47:44 +0000 http://culturematters.wordpress.com/?p=281#comment-3266 Thank you for sharing this VERY interesting article. Sadly, I think Zimbabwe /has/is descending into a "dark age" of its own. There is not much to do about it as long as the current leadership is in power. The other issue you mention is about WHO reads. I am not too upset about this anymore. It is my understanding that in 2007 the number of BOOKS actually published went down in the United States for the first time ever. I was really alarmed at this until I began to look at my own personal habits. I am someone who loves to read, many times in the past consuming even a book a day, or a larger book in three days. During the past couple of years, I have purchased fewer books, as well as read FAR fewer books. But then I realized I am NOT reading LESS, I am just reading several hours on the INTERNET each day. I'm reading news, blogs, and doing research. (Of course this doesn't help Zimbabwe, which doesn't have electricity, let alone computers, but that's another issue.) I also realized there are two sorts of people, and this will apply across every country in the world. People who like to be PASSIVE prefer hours of TV every day--they don't go on the internet at all for email or reading, or research. IF they go on, it's only to look at pictures, or download music. The other type of person prefers an ACTIVE medium. These are the people who are both reading and writing blogs, and commenting on others' blogs. These are the people who watch little or no TV because the passiveness of it is boring to them! Whether you have libraries OR internet usage, the SAME people are going to be using them. The TV people didn't go the library much, and they don't read much on the internet either. This accounts for the people at the posh school in England. They prefer the passive medium, even if they are in an elite school. It has nothing to to with them being priveleged or not. So I think the internet is not the "scary killer of reading" that some people think it is. It's taken me a couple of years to come around to this viewpoint. I am a long-time teacher who has thought about it a LOT. Eileen Dedicated Elementary Teacher Overseas (in the Middle East) elementaryteacher.wordpress.com Thank you for sharing this VERY interesting article.

Sadly, I think Zimbabwe /has/is descending into a “dark age” of its own. There is not much to do about it as long as the current leadership is in power.

The other issue you mention is about WHO reads. I am not too upset about this anymore. It is my understanding that in 2007 the number of BOOKS actually published went down in the United States for the first time ever. I was really alarmed at this until I began to look at my own personal habits. I am someone who loves to read, many times in the past consuming even a book a day, or a larger book in three days. During the past couple of years, I have purchased fewer books, as well as read FAR fewer books. But then I realized I am NOT reading LESS, I am just reading several hours on the INTERNET each day. I’m reading news, blogs, and doing research. (Of course this doesn’t help Zimbabwe, which doesn’t have electricity, let alone computers, but that’s another issue.)

I also realized there are two sorts of people, and this will apply across every country in the world. People who like to be PASSIVE prefer hours of TV every day–they don’t go on the internet at all for email or reading, or research. IF they go on, it’s only to look at pictures, or download music. The other type of person prefers an ACTIVE medium. These are the people who are both reading and writing blogs, and commenting on others’ blogs. These are the people who watch little or no TV because the passiveness of it is boring to them! Whether you have libraries OR internet usage, the SAME people are going to be using them. The TV people didn’t go the library much, and they don’t read much on the internet either. This accounts for the people at the posh school in England. They prefer the passive medium, even if they are in an elite school. It has nothing to to with them being priveleged or not.

So I think the internet is not the “scary killer of reading” that some people think it is. It’s taken me a couple of years to come around to this viewpoint. I am a long-time teacher who has thought about it a LOT.

Eileen
Dedicated Elementary Teacher Overseas (in the Middle East)
elementaryteacher.wordpress.com

]]>