Dear Hiveans,
just a short end-of-week thought on illiteracy.
There are three kinds of illiteracy:
- A person that can't read is illiterate (wiki).
- A person that can read, but does not read, is - effectively - also illiterate.
- Those who can read and do read, but only nonsensical texts (e.g. political propaganda, especially of autocracies), is also illiterate.
The first kind of illiteracy has - thank goodness! - gone down a lot over the last 200 years, and I hope it will go down to zero soon.
source
Concerning the third type of illiteracy my impression is that over the last 20 years many people in the western world have succombed to different sources of mis- or disinformation. This may be due to the rise of social discontent and social media. Instead of putting to use the enormous power of the internet by downloading the best books ever written (e.g. here: https://libgen.is/) for free, many people use twitter or facebook to follow mediocre celebrities or political leaders, or consume pointless conspiracy theories - and, then, "think" they understand the world.
I think we are in the midst of political and societal turmoil (Fourth Turning, I wrote here about that)
and hope that this trend will reverse and real literacy will get more widespread.
Have a great weekend,
zuerich
P.S. some quotes and memes
)
Liebe Hiver,
heute ein paar Gedanken zum Wochenausklang über Analphabetismus.
Es gibt drei Arten von Analphabetismus:
- Eine Person, die nicht lesen kann, ist Analphabet (wiki).
- Eine Person, die lesen kann, aber nicht liest, ist - effektiv - ebenfalls Analphabet.
- Wer lesen kann und liest, aber nur unsinnige Texte (z.B. politische Propaganda, insbesondere von Autokratien), ist ebenfalls Analphabet.
Die erste Art des Analphabetismus ist - Gott sei Dank! - in den letzten 200 Jahren stark zurückgegangen, und ich hoffe, dass sie bald auf Null sinken wird.
[Quelle] (https://ourworldindata.org/literacy)
Was die dritte Art von Analphabetismus betrifft, so habe ich den Eindruck, dass in den letzten 20 Jahren viele Menschen in der westlichen Welt verschiedenen Quellen von Falsch- oder Desinformation erlegen sind. Dies mag auf den Anstieg der sozialen Unzufriedenheit und der sozialen Medien zurückzuführen sein. Anstatt die enorme Macht des Internets zu nutzen und die besten Bücher, die je geschrieben wurden, kostenlos herunterzuladen (z.B. hier: https://libgen.is/), nutzen viele Menschen Twitter oder Facebook, um mediokren Celebrities oder politischen Führern zu folgen oder sinnlose Verschwörungstheorien zu konsumieren - und glauben dann, die Welt zu verstehen.
Ich denke, wir befinden uns mitten in einem politischen und gesellschaftlichen Umbruch (Fourth Turning, ich habe hier darüber geschrieben) und hoffe, dass sich dieser Trend umkehrt und echte Lesekompetenz/Belesenheit weiter verbreitet wird.
Have a nice weekend,
zuerich
)
Queridos Hiveanos,
sólo una breve reflexión de fin de semana sobre el analfabetismo.
Hay tres tipos de analfabetismo:
- Una persona que no sabe leer es analfabeta (wiki).
- Una persona que sabe leer, pero no lee, es -efectivamente- también analfabeta.
- Quien sabe leer y lee, pero sólo textos sin sentido (por ejemplo, propaganda política, especialmente de autocracias), también es analfabeto.
El primer tipo de analfabetismo -¡menos mal! - ha disminuido mucho en los últimos 200 años, y espero que pronto llegue a cero.
fuente
En cuanto al tercer tipo de analfabetismo, tengo la impresión de que en los últimos 20 años muchas personas del mundo occidental han sucumbido a diferentes fuentes de desinformación. Esto puede deberse al auge del descontento social y de los medios de comunicación social. En lugar de aprovechar el enorme poder de internet descargando gratis los mejores libros jamás escritos (por ejemplo, aquí: https://libgen.is/), muchas personas utilizan twitter o facebook para seguir a celebridades o líderes políticos mediocres, o consumir teorías conspirativas sin sentido, y, así, "creer" que entienden el mundo.
Creo que estamos en medio de una agitación política y social (Fourth Turning, escribí aquí sobre ello)
y espero que esta tendencia se invierta y la alfabetización real se generalice.
Buen fin de semana,
zuerich
P.D. algunas citas y memes
)
This is the second time in 10 days you've written an article which I will probably be quoting (with your permission of course) in an upcoming article on the apparent death of rational thought in modern society (the other was your article on conspiracy theories). It's also interesting timing that you posted this article that comments on the inability of people to adjust their worldview based on new information just as I'm reading "Demagoguery and Democracy" by Patricia Roberts-Miller, which hits on a similar topic.
Of course you can.
Thanks for the feedback!
I would suggest there might be a fourth aspect of your subject @zuerich - the ability to think. Critically, rationally, logically ... I have no idea how that might be quantitatively measured, but ...
Of what value is the ... "mechanics" ... of being literate, i.e. reading and writing, without it?
I have no question, in my lifetime, this ability has declined substantially. At least in my part of our big, wide world.
I hope all is well with you and your loved ones, my friend!
I'm glad to read your comment.
Yes, the ability to think is very important and seems to have been in decline for decades.Dear @roleerob,
Yes, all is well with us. I hope with you, too.
Have a great weekend!
I should have added "independently" to my original list, as even those who, on the surface, appear to have ... "a few brain cells to click together" ... seem incapable of truly independent thought.
"Group think" is all the rage ... I call them "echo chambers," with those who choose to participate in them taking turns "virtue signaling" each other, by how "cleverly" (legends in their own minds) they restate whatever "common knowledge" tells them that "everybody knows" ...
Yes, with a new growing season underway, we are doing well. Living the simple life ... Thank you!
I really like your classification of illiteracy. The worst of all is the one who cannot read or write, because he or she is disconnected from the world. God willing, your wish for "widespread literacy" will come true.
Diejenigen, die nur Symbole „lesen“ und entleeren, nenne ich „dysfunktionale Alphabete“, und in einem Text muss man über das hinausgehen, was man kommunizieren möchte.
Ich hoffe auch, dass sich die Dinge zum Wohle aller verbessern, Grüße.
Ein für mich ein sehr wichtiger Post. Wer ihn gelesen hat, muss, sollte drüber nachdenken. Sonst kann er sich gleich in Kategorie 3 wieder finden.
LG Michael
!invest_vote
!hivebits
Dear @zuerich !
Are you a Swiss living in Zurich, Switzerland?
I think you are rich!😄
I am of German origin having lived in Zurich, but now in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Dear @zuerich !
I assumed you were German-Swiss!
Do you speak German, English and French?😦
German and English yes, my French could be better, but I am learning.
That is good!
I envy people who speak many foreign languages! 😃
"pointless conspiracy theories"
like that the Corona "vaccines" were harmful?
In fact we live in an age where the term conspiracy theory is increasingly used to shut down critics!
This is so true. Some kind of information passed around nowadays as knowledge most often have no sense in them. An individual craft something out of his brain and insist on it to be the truth as long as it gratifies their desire
Those who seek and read the right information and educative materials that are good for them are the only original thinkers left. There are good books and blogs everywhere waiting to be read, but Instead many spend most of their days behind the screen and prefer scrolling thru their social media feeds all day without learning something.
Finding the right information takes time too but it's best to spend our time seeking and consuming good material than feeding ourselves with propaganda and biased narratives on what is right and what is not.
@mima2606 denkt du hast ein Vote durch @investinthefutur verdient!@mima2606 thinks you have earned a vote of @investinthefutur !
hi, @zuerich do you have any idea why @meritocracy downvoting?
No, I have no idea 🤷🏻♂️