The disparaging reference to ADHD brought my reading to a halt. ADHD is curiosity dancing through the world, bringing home treasure. It is the child's delight in rolling down a grassy hill. Does it neglect to put its treasures away? Does it have grass stains on its knees? Of course. It is joy and fun, and where would reading be without that? Sure, other cognitive styles are needed, too. Even the anxious ones worried that reading will disappear.
Fantastic essay, with some critical guiding points made along the way: "self-study must include the discipline’s foundational texts" and "research has to culminate."
Agree with Woolf. I am off OTTs/movies/TV shows/sports and I only read books. One of the most profound changes I have experienced has been a sense of calmness that was missing earlier.
Reading has gone down because of the addictive nature of our phones.
Amateur research is alive still, but often more confined to areas where there isn't a large equipment cost to entry. Software being the major one. A lot of open source I would consider amateur research. Then there are also the online communities you mentioned like reddit, stack overflow, twitter, discord servers, ect.
Because of many years of formal research and amateur, most of the low hanging fruit for discovery is gone. It remains where there is new technology or phenomena.
I do wonder how much amateur research there used to be. My first guess would be not that much. Assuming that most people did not have much leisure time where in they could do this research.
I loved this. It sort of… how do I put it… it crystallised and organised faint notions that have been floating around my head for a while now. And I’m so appreciative of the way it’s written: clean, well-researched, actionable, and gently hopeful despite calling out the flaws in our culture. Also the foundation in Islamic principles? Yeah, I’m going to read this several more times and take notes. Thank you
By the way, that sequence of “In this year, when such and such happened, this author worries about the future of reading” in The Long Century of the Last Reader section was brilliant. How it depicts the passage of time and the… using the rule of three and… yeah my eloquence has run out but that section right there was so shiny and I aspire to use storytelling tools as well as that
Great read. It is notable to mention that "reading" and "reciting" were the same meaning in ancient times due to being the same act. Reading silently was developed in the middle Ages, and even then there are records of (I think St.Ambrose) amazed at watching someone watch pages and turn them without reading aloud. This is very interesting!
Wonderful read! The Quran really did start with read as it is the thing that gets us close to god. It is a wonderful heartwarming thought that makes the universe makes sense
Ms. Mahmoud- thank you very much for this essay. I've been this person my entire adult life, but the thing that really hit home is at the end: to contribute research for the community. I've published essays in books, but I should - and can - do much, much more.
A tad spooky: your example of walking in the suburbs and wondering where did all this come from: I asked myself the same thing around age 25. I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles and this was one question that has kept me going for a long time: why did the Red Cars disappear? What about post-war government funding got the suburbs going? Why? How does the environment of the suburbs affect personality? When I was a kid and entered homes on my block, why did they all seem just like my house, only maybe turned 90 degrees here and there? Why did I only have one fellow black student my entire 12 years of primary schooling?
This never ends. But: I've never published a damned thing about all this. It's just endlessly interesting to me.
Your essay gets to heart of one of my obsessions: I'm never bored. But why does it seem almost everyone else is lost with dopamine hits and doomscrolling? My library card is one of my most cherished possessions. Why aren't more people using their cards? What does it mean to "get a life!"?
"This never ends. But: I've never published a damned thing about all this. It's just endlessly interesting to me."
Hi Robert, sounds like it's time for you to start a Substack! But seriously, look into creating a Substack as a notebook of sorts. Not to develop a "brand" or curate an identity but to participate in discourse. That's what I'm trying to do here and I think Substack is a really special place for it. Hopefully it doesn't become too commodified.
The disparaging reference to ADHD brought my reading to a halt. ADHD is curiosity dancing through the world, bringing home treasure. It is the child's delight in rolling down a grassy hill. Does it neglect to put its treasures away? Does it have grass stains on its knees? Of course. It is joy and fun, and where would reading be without that? Sure, other cognitive styles are needed, too. Even the anxious ones worried that reading will disappear.
Fantastic essay, with some critical guiding points made along the way: "self-study must include the discipline’s foundational texts" and "research has to culminate."
Agree with Woolf. I am off OTTs/movies/TV shows/sports and I only read books. One of the most profound changes I have experienced has been a sense of calmness that was missing earlier.
Reading has gone down because of the addictive nature of our phones.
Amateur research is alive still, but often more confined to areas where there isn't a large equipment cost to entry. Software being the major one. A lot of open source I would consider amateur research. Then there are also the online communities you mentioned like reddit, stack overflow, twitter, discord servers, ect.
Because of many years of formal research and amateur, most of the low hanging fruit for discovery is gone. It remains where there is new technology or phenomena.
I do wonder how much amateur research there used to be. My first guess would be not that much. Assuming that most people did not have much leisure time where in they could do this research.
I loved this. It sort of… how do I put it… it crystallised and organised faint notions that have been floating around my head for a while now. And I’m so appreciative of the way it’s written: clean, well-researched, actionable, and gently hopeful despite calling out the flaws in our culture. Also the foundation in Islamic principles? Yeah, I’m going to read this several more times and take notes. Thank you
By the way, that sequence of “In this year, when such and such happened, this author worries about the future of reading” in The Long Century of the Last Reader section was brilliant. How it depicts the passage of time and the… using the rule of three and… yeah my eloquence has run out but that section right there was so shiny and I aspire to use storytelling tools as well as that
Great read. It is notable to mention that "reading" and "reciting" were the same meaning in ancient times due to being the same act. Reading silently was developed in the middle Ages, and even then there are records of (I think St.Ambrose) amazed at watching someone watch pages and turn them without reading aloud. This is very interesting!
Wonderful read! The Quran really did start with read as it is the thing that gets us close to god. It is a wonderful heartwarming thought that makes the universe makes sense
Absolutely stunning essay. Thank you.
Beautifully written. Thank you for this!
This would be part of my Heaven.
They ARE still around. They’re all Wikipedia editors
Thank you for giving my way of life a name, many names, in fact. From now on, "leisurely researcher" will be part of my CV.
This is amazing :)
I can sense divine inspiration in this essay—the content and style are truly beautiful. Thank you for this!
Great read!
Ms. Mahmoud- thank you very much for this essay. I've been this person my entire adult life, but the thing that really hit home is at the end: to contribute research for the community. I've published essays in books, but I should - and can - do much, much more.
A tad spooky: your example of walking in the suburbs and wondering where did all this come from: I asked myself the same thing around age 25. I grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles and this was one question that has kept me going for a long time: why did the Red Cars disappear? What about post-war government funding got the suburbs going? Why? How does the environment of the suburbs affect personality? When I was a kid and entered homes on my block, why did they all seem just like my house, only maybe turned 90 degrees here and there? Why did I only have one fellow black student my entire 12 years of primary schooling?
This never ends. But: I've never published a damned thing about all this. It's just endlessly interesting to me.
Your essay gets to heart of one of my obsessions: I'm never bored. But why does it seem almost everyone else is lost with dopamine hits and doomscrolling? My library card is one of my most cherished possessions. Why aren't more people using their cards? What does it mean to "get a life!"?
"This never ends. But: I've never published a damned thing about all this. It's just endlessly interesting to me."
Hi Robert, sounds like it's time for you to start a Substack! But seriously, look into creating a Substack as a notebook of sorts. Not to develop a "brand" or curate an identity but to participate in discourse. That's what I'm trying to do here and I think Substack is a really special place for it. Hopefully it doesn't become too commodified.