tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post1827978123972920479..comments2023-08-20T04:55:39.436-07:00Comments on Ars Psychiatrica: By the Book...wormNovalishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501890494890617030noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-43160116927410751792009-01-19T16:36:00.000-08:002009-01-19T16:36:00.000-08:00I don't think book reading is going to go the way ...I don't think book reading is going to go the way of the Dodo bird. There may be people who do not read books, but since when were there not? <BR/><BR/>One problem with books is that they occupy a lot of space and they're expensive (often). I try only to buy books that I am going to read or expect someone else will read. I give away the unneeded ones to the library. Most of the time I just check books out of the library because I can take them back and not have to worry about having a space to put them in. For older literature, it's very easy to find it online. I am not sure why that would be worse than reading it in book form. You can still read the entire book.<BR/><BR/>Also, who hasn't skimmed a book? I know I read all of most books, but occasionally I have skimmed through just to gather data relevant to a research paper.<BR/><BR/>I enjoy your blog by the way. Keep writing.Estherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04892778181543416624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-35494525648689180552009-01-17T01:57:00.000-08:002009-01-17T01:57:00.000-08:00Where's a good psychiatrist when you need one? Th...Where's a good psychiatrist when you need one? Things are not to that point here, but I can attest that in any single residence the sheer physicality of books can become a major drawback.Novalishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10501890494890617030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-11559279418494946342009-01-16T20:15:00.000-08:002009-01-16T20:15:00.000-08:00Actually, surfing the net can be a more intense co...Actually, surfing the net can be a more intense cognitive experience than just reading since your brain is continually initiating search goals, sifting, scanning, and analysing information's validity/usefulness, and then making desicions about whether to pursue further links and discard other irrelevant bits-- ie, it's utilising its executive functions. Brain scans of well-practised net users show extensive pre-frontal cortical activity when engaged thus. I guess book reading directs your attentional resources to the single act of proceeding from one sentence to the next -- the order of progression is pre-decided so the main focus is just on text interpretation; emotional response and intellectual or imaginative stimulation follow.<BR/><BR/>Internet use is often characterised as flitting from one bit of information to the next, never as deep immersion into a single narrative string that whisks you further and further into a unified thesis. More like flashing fairy lights than a concentrated burst of illumination.<BR/><BR/>So which is more fulfilling? I guess it depends on your requirements. The internet is good for quick general teasing out of the rudiments of an ujnknown topic; reading inclines to a more personalised thorough enjoyment of a particular line of interest (that may very well have its genesis in one of those randomt serendiptitous internet flings).<BR/><BR/>Books tend to clutter and gather dust, and sometimes kill -- high enough unstable stacks can literally collapse and bury a hapless hoarder! <BR/><BR/>Speaking of which, did you hear about that compulsive junk collector? Apparently 10 yrs of accumulated festering garbage 'arranged' to form a ceiling high complex labyrinth of nooks and tunnels eventually disoriented the constructor himself who unfortuantely became lost and possibly suffocated or dehydrated to death...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com