Seth Godin, as he always tends to do, points out the obvious and makes you think:
I got a note from someone the other day, in which she made it clear that she doesn’t read non-fiction books or blogs related to her industry. And she seemed proud of this.
I was roped into an argument with someone who was sure that ear candling was a useful treatment. Had he read any medical articles on the topic? No. But he knew. Or said he did.
You see a lot of ostensibly smart people in airports, and it always surprises me how few of them use this downtime to actually become more informed. It’s clearly a deliberate act — in our infoculture, it takes work not to expose yourself to interesting ideas, facts, news and points of view…
…
Not all books are correct or useful. Not all accepted science is correct. The conventional wisdom might just be wrong. But ignoring all of it because the truth is now fashionably situational and in the eye of the beholder is a lame alternative.
That’s why I love reading blogs and the comments on this page. You all keep me on my toes, help me stay informed, and make me question whatever I’m thinking.
I’m at the point where I can’t have real conversations with people who don’t read books or know what’s going on in the world. It’s just too frustrating. I don’t have to agree with you, but we have to be able to debate a certain topic, right? It’s hard to do that with someone who brings no ammo to the battle.
Seriously, I know time is hard to come by, but how do people not read?!