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Rysh's avatar

I’m glad you’re going to cover this topic. I’ve seen that article, “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read” referenced nearly everywhere. It seems that the article struck a chord with many (or maybe it’s the internet bubble I’m in).

Looking forward to seeing what your guest writers have to say.

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Darius Liddell's avatar

Funnily enough, I just read a blog somewhere on here by a current college student and her friends (3-5 of them all majoring in Classics), and they all said they were initially inspired to go deeper into Greek mythology by.... Percy Jackson! So, who knew.

If it's any consolation, I studied computer science in university and worked for a decade plus, but have designed my own humanities reading syllabi for leisure since graduating and I love it honestly.

As you probably know, there are plenty of "STEM people" who don't want to see a tech-first or tech-forward world, but the golden handcuffs are real -- of that there is no doubt.

But as you mention, plenty of people are still reading, but what exactly are they reading and is it written by a human? I met a very witty and knowledgeable 15 yo last year and he was very well-versed in watching YouTube (documentaries, takes, podcasts) and getting all his "know-how" from there. I couldn't help but think that that was "reading" for him.

And we all have friends who love audiobooks, precisely because they can listen to them while multitasking. Whereas paper books require you to pay attention only to them! How selfish of them.

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