Very good lecture Varn. I am as is typical for me, an outlier. I have a ged and no degree of any kind yet i still found your work. I do confess to being somewhat egregiously self educated though. Taking control of ones own education and guiding it is necessary for developing a mature base of knowledge and understanding to draw inferences, make comparisons and recognize patterns. But it can leave you open or closed as it were to some nasty blind spots because one doesn't know what one doesn't know. This is why its so valuable to spend time among people who know more than you or have a different knowledge base or study focus. It fills in gaps you didnt even know you had until you spend time listening to others and developing your philosophy until comes a day you feel slightly less empty and stupid. Then of course you turn around and see even higher peaks in the distance, daring you to gain new heights and spelunk new depths. A process of processes is knowing, much like life itself.
This was fire. Also, I don't have a college education. The most I've got is two semesters at community college, and most of that was spent catching up on required credits, under the assumption that I'd attend a higher institution. It never happened. I enjoy watching/listening to a lot of your stuff, Sublation, TU, and a bunch of other stuff, because I've independently read a lot of the older thinkers/philosophers/theorists that are referenced by you, and the others. Further, I have always been accused of talking over people's head, and even been called "college boy," on a regular basis. When these people find out that I grew up fully lumpen, in housing projects, and didn't achieve a degree, they invariably get upset, and don't know how to respond.
Have you read Sartre’s autobiography “The Words.” Fascinating personal history of his early and developing relationship with reading and writing. His Grandfather was a German dictionary editor, and Sartre first began reading his library of classics by as a performance for the family. If I recall correctly, he first read at four or five years. Family libraries seem to me to be a significant aspect of this current trend. What collections do families maintain or what collections do new families procure? Digital texts are not a part of the tactile home environment in the same way. The text and the home are not of the same world in many cases. As for me, my parents kept a meager library that I quickly outgrew in middleschool. That was essential for me, in addition to the public library. Jack London, fantasy novellas, histories, biographies. I recently learned that I self taught myself at four or five to tie my shoes while reading a book at the library! I’m grateful for my parents for bringing me to the library all those early evenings before school even began. Now, it’s a matter of obsessive habit.
a lot to think about. I teach philosophy in university/college and need to carefully consider the reading level of students for obvious reasons. I find university students generally (but not always) have the skills to parse texts. I find many college kids really do struggle, like they're high school freshmen. The point about inferences is particularly important when reading philosophy. I've had kids read Nietzsche's Thus Spake and they interpreted the passage on philosophers of sleep as talking about how important a good 8-hour rest is for health. I've had students reading Socrates wholly unironically. I was not certain if this was because they were only skimming or because they are bad readers, especially because some are asynchronous online classes where evaluating those things can be tricky. I've also seen a huge problem with students understanding what a good primary or secondary source is. They think basic media and encyclopedias as good sources for an essay independent of good primary and secondary sources. To me this suggests not only a basic lack of curiosity about what the sources say directly but a total lack of appreciation in reading the original and coming to one's own understanding. I've decided to turn analysis of source quality into a topic I teach. I think part of this is attributable to the fact we just read less, and when we do read it's often pulp. I have nothing against reading pulp, but I think its important for people to engage with the classics. I went to a phenomenal public school district by national standards and still didn't encounter so much of the literary canon until the last few years, and most of my knowledge of this came from college. I do not know the extent to whether this is lowering standards, the massive availability of easy alternatives, or what. As an aside, I always thought Plato might have been a bit cheeky in talking about Socrates mistrusting reading and writing. After all Plato had his books written down. I think he himself may have sympathized with Socrates's objection but recognized the massive advantages of writing in our ability to record volume which is simply impossible with memorization. Of course, literacy doesn't need to be contrary to memorization. So many kids across the globe memorize the Quran because of their literacy not despite it. So there are practices we can adopt that minimize the costs of such technologies.
One thing I'll say is: reading is a leisure activity. In that you need time, space and a level of emotional calm to even engage with what you're reading (unless it's pulp). I think that zone is increasingly hard to come by for everyone in our society, children included.
I can fully understand a video like this one. The conversations with lots of references to other authors and philosophers I have to get my Leonard Spencer hat on and try to actually learn some thing.
I’m just starting my teaching career in a public school and the mixed bag of poorly paid non-profit professionals the district partners with just aren’t sufficient to do anything like restorative justice
How is this a “right wing” issue? It seems just a few years ago, the hip left thing to do was to make fun of George W Bush’s apparent lack of literacy.
Very good lecture Varn. I am as is typical for me, an outlier. I have a ged and no degree of any kind yet i still found your work. I do confess to being somewhat egregiously self educated though. Taking control of ones own education and guiding it is necessary for developing a mature base of knowledge and understanding to draw inferences, make comparisons and recognize patterns. But it can leave you open or closed as it were to some nasty blind spots because one doesn't know what one doesn't know. This is why its so valuable to spend time among people who know more than you or have a different knowledge base or study focus. It fills in gaps you didnt even know you had until you spend time listening to others and developing your philosophy until comes a day you feel slightly less empty and stupid. Then of course you turn around and see even higher peaks in the distance, daring you to gain new heights and spelunk new depths. A process of processes is knowing, much like life itself.
Very informative Varn. The usual forensic analysis from you.
This was fire.
Also, I don't have a college education. The most I've got is two semesters at community college, and most of that was spent catching up on required credits, under the assumption that I'd attend a higher institution. It never happened. I enjoy watching/listening to a lot of your stuff, Sublation, TU, and a bunch of other stuff, because I've independently read a lot of the older thinkers/philosophers/theorists that are referenced by you, and the others. Further, I have always been accused of talking over people's head, and even been called "college boy," on a regular basis. When these people find out that I grew up fully lumpen, in housing projects, and didn't achieve a degree, they invariably get upset, and don't know how to respond.
Have you read Sartre’s autobiography “The Words.” Fascinating personal history of his early and developing relationship with reading and writing. His Grandfather was a German dictionary editor, and Sartre first began reading his library of classics by as a performance for the family. If I recall correctly, he first read at four or five years. Family libraries seem to me to be a significant aspect of this current trend. What collections do families maintain or what collections do new families procure? Digital texts are not a part of the tactile home environment in the same way. The text and the home are not of the same world in many cases. As for me, my parents kept a meager library that I quickly outgrew in middleschool. That was essential for me, in addition to the public library. Jack London, fantasy novellas, histories, biographies. I recently learned that I self taught myself at four or five to tie my shoes while reading a book at the library! I’m grateful for my parents for bringing me to the library all those early evenings before school even began. Now, it’s a matter of obsessive habit.
I've seen some really valid empirical studies that it's privatization that is causing this illiteracy.
Privatisation destroyed everything as usual
a lot to think about. I teach philosophy in university/college and need to carefully consider the reading level of students for obvious reasons. I find university students generally (but not always) have the skills to parse texts. I find many college kids really do struggle, like they're high school freshmen. The point about inferences is particularly important when reading philosophy. I've had kids read Nietzsche's Thus Spake and they interpreted the passage on philosophers of sleep as talking about how important a good 8-hour rest is for health. I've had students reading Socrates wholly unironically. I was not certain if this was because they were only skimming or because they are bad readers, especially because some are asynchronous online classes where evaluating those things can be tricky.
I've also seen a huge problem with students understanding what a good primary or secondary source is. They think basic media and encyclopedias as good sources for an essay independent of good primary and secondary sources. To me this suggests not only a basic lack of curiosity about what the sources say directly but a total lack of appreciation in reading the original and coming to one's own understanding. I've decided to turn analysis of source quality into a topic I teach.
I think part of this is attributable to the fact we just read less, and when we do read it's often pulp. I have nothing against reading pulp, but I think its important for people to engage with the classics. I went to a phenomenal public school district by national standards and still didn't encounter so much of the literary canon until the last few years, and most of my knowledge of this came from college. I do not know the extent to whether this is lowering standards, the massive availability of easy alternatives, or what.
As an aside, I always thought Plato might have been a bit cheeky in talking about Socrates mistrusting reading and writing. After all Plato had his books written down. I think he himself may have sympathized with Socrates's objection but recognized the massive advantages of writing in our ability to record volume which is simply impossible with memorization. Of course, literacy doesn't need to be contrary to memorization. So many kids across the globe memorize the Quran because of their literacy not despite it. So there are practices we can adopt that minimize the costs of such technologies.
This whole conversation reminds of the Latin phrase Sapere Aude, dare to know.
One thing I'll say is: reading is a leisure activity. In that you need time, space and a level of emotional calm to even engage with what you're reading (unless it's pulp). I think that zone is increasingly hard to come by for everyone in our society, children included.
I can fully understand a video like this one. The conversations with lots of references to other authors and philosophers I have to get my Leonard Spencer hat on and try to actually learn some thing.
I’m just starting my teaching career in a public school and the mixed bag of poorly paid non-profit professionals the district partners with just aren’t sufficient to do anything like restorative justice
Yeah, it took me like 3 years to learn how to run mediation & groups.
Thank you so much!
Once a topic becomes a "right wing talking point" you have to drop it like a cursed monkey paw, them's the rules
Rightoids
Gotta add an "and" between "Learning" and "Progressive"
36:42 i know it’s not what you meant but I read this as referring to TikTok 😂
How is this a “right wing” issue? It seems just a few years ago, the hip left thing to do was to make fun of George W Bush’s apparent lack of literacy.
Rules for you but not for me.