Takra jenai wrote:Is it a good thing to be able to read and write?
I'm not so sure.
Since this has been revived....
I'm not so sure either. Of course, reading and writing open up worlds and doors, I know, but it is actually something I have pondered from time to time, whether we'd be better off without this seemingly huge advantage. I view much of television as either brainwashing content or distraction, and I am no exception in indulging in TV-watching. I watched a documentary the other day which yet again sowed much concern in my mind with regards to the amount we use electronice devices and the effects on a child's imagination and negative impacts on behaviour. It's scary when you see how hooked human being are on 'likes' with particular programs. We are being manipulated. We are being watched. So if we rid ourselves of screens/devices, some might think that we might be much better off. But what if we wound the clock back further and rid ourselves of the now common ability to read and write? It's hard to avoid the impact of the digital world nowadays and not to take part in it if we expect to 'advance' (careers, social life etc), but what if we deprived ourselves of even the ability to read and write? I think in the modern world the disadvantages would be huge, but once upon a time it was a rare skill, wasn't it? Were those people more present? Less distracted? That to me is the question, since I think being present is really important. If I couldn't read and write I might be outside playing with one of my kids, who's happily playing on her own (in my view) as the Spring weather here begins. I might be playing with her, but in the modern world I might be jobless and she might not exist. In the past, I would've more likely been illiterate and happy and present.
I would definitely never wish for my literacy to disappear. For me it's unrealistic to consider being illiterate in a modern world. I'd be living in poverty and seclusion and for me, from where I stand now, that would be torture - I'd not be able to visit other cultures. But in the middle ages, it might have been better for my family (even if it meant being poorer) and it would've been better for the environment (less literacy = less books, less trees cut down, less devices - yes none in middle ages anyway). Is reading a distraction? If we never read and couldn't write a word AND didn't have devices for listening/watching, wow, we'd be so much more present in our surroundings.
Off to play...