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Complaining about how people in the Middle Ages couldn't read is stupid. They didn't need to, just as I don't need to know how to farm.
This stems off that belief that reading books equals big brain and big brain equals morally correct society. It doesn't.
This stems off that belief that reading books equals big brain and big brain equals morally correct society. It doesn't.
First off, you know how to read. What do you read? Treaties on the movement of the celestial bodies? Not at all, you read tweets and whatever your job requires you to.
Most people over the age of 40 here have almost forgotten the skill of handwriting and their orthography hurts.
Most people over the age of 40 here have almost forgotten the skill of handwriting and their orthography hurts.
You could argue that to read the Bible you need to be literate. That's literally what priests (who were literate) are for.
Modern society knows how to read and makes no deep use for it, just as you can give a smartphone to a monkey and he will use it as a stone to hit things.
Modern society knows how to read and makes no deep use for it, just as you can give a smartphone to a monkey and he will use it as a stone to hit things.
Having everyone read deep books is hard. They will always choose the simpler stuff rather than go deep into a book they can barely understand. That's why the ones who actually read, read "adolescent romantic novels" and similar worthless literature.
Some people are simply low-level socio-culturally, there's no reason to give them books if they're happy without reading them (unless you want them to read *your* propaganda-infested books).
Let's imagine for a moment that all the conditions are met, and people who live off farming lettuce find the ideas of Plato on human duality interesting, and they're able to read them. What would change? Nothing at all.
They'd still farm lettuce (someone has to), there'd still be classes, the only thing that'd change is that you'd have given a hobby to a farmer. That's it. No c*mmie revolution, no nothing.
In fact, if they read the classics they will actually become even more traditionalist, as they are ripe with sexism, racism, etc. Or do you want them to read your own books, with your own ideology? Is that why you think reading books means being smart?
I remember loling out loud when reading the Satyricon, as a man described his slave something like this:
"He's a really good singer, cook and baker, he only has two defects: he's j*wish and he snores"
That was a socially acceptable and family friendly in that time...
"He's a really good singer, cook and baker, he only has two defects: he's j*wish and he snores"
That was a socially acceptable and family friendly in that time...
The repulsion towards this kind of books by the same people who attack the Middle Ages by crying "illiteratcy" makes me think the problem isn't that they didn't read books, but rather that they didn't read *their* books.
In other words, illiteracy is what kept them free from your intellectual yoke, and that's why you hate it.
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