Mark - At age 65, like your historical figures, Im still feeling jiggly about lots of things including myself, history and parenting, even though my kids are in their 30s. Suppose being jiggly can be a good thing? Thanks for giving me the new concept and visual of being Jello Jiggly. "I now embrace the historical importance of a person is like a pan of jello. It will start liquid and eventually firm up a bit. It will remain jiggly for a while"
John Lennon was a bit of a primadonna. He didn't say very many nice things about the Stones. Mick Jagger will probably still be entertaining audiences into his mid 80s.
I'm fascinated by history, but most textbooks I remember from my junior and high school years (public schools) were dull, fact-filled tomes, and undoubtedly putting forth a point of view that was palatable for that time (the '60s) but left out vital info--like the horrors of slavery, the Holocaust, racial injustice, religious bigotry, etc. But, growing up at that time and also as a daughter of immigrants who themselves were feeling like outsiders, I had a natural skepticism that led me to be more of a critical thinker than I might have been otherwise. I believe the most important thing we can teach children in school and outside of it is to be critical thinkers, so they are able to question those in authority if need be. It's the hallmark of a free society, but I fear we're in danger of forgetting this.
Thanks as always for sharing your insights, Mark. I always learn something new, including what a Pareto Chart is (sightly horrifying in its implications) and the deeper meaning of The Rolling Stones's "Sympathy for the Devil." I had never really listened to the lyrics and ended up looking them up and discovering that the source material for the song was a fascinating and troubling book called The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, written and highly censored during the Soviet era. Now, of course, I'd like to read it. Anyway, you always have something interesting to say, Mark, and, as long as I get your newsletter in my in-box, I'll keep reading. Wishing you a happy and delicious Thanksgiving!
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment. It is so exciting to be counting down as I am felling great about my decision. I'm really not sure what I will do with my archive beyond saving it. I do think I will repurpose the book club posts into a separate space. I have carefully evaluated the archive results so I don't see a need to just leave it out there. I expect to write again but probably mostly focused on drafting a book I think. Based upon the lack of engagement I don't think Substack will be the place for that but who knows. I appreciate every one of your comments Ruth.
I was already an avid reader of everything and anything by the time I was five years old. One of the family friends was a retired teacher who took great joy in watching me devore his old textbooks. The school - and later town - librarians seemed to have a lot of fun choosing new books for me to try. My reading tended to veer towards animal studies (anything from chimpanzees to mosquitoes) and fantasy, but I would read anything, even cereal boxes and the dictionary. I read the encyclopedia for fun (granted, we didn't have Google back then!). Reading is my comfort, my escape, my entertainment, my education. I couldn't imagine a life without books. 😊
I agree that history textbooks are sadly lacking. My high school history teacher (back in 1977) supplemented our textbooks by having us do lots and lots of research projects. She even had us recreate the Nuremberg trials during the unit on WWII. She picked Joseph Goebbels as the defendant and assigned major roles to the honors students - the rest of the class acted as jurors, but they were also expected to write a research paper to justify their verdict. I had the unenviable job of defense attorney. It was a horrible job, but I did hours of research and pulled an "A," even though my defendant was found guilty. The teacher was annoyed because the student prosecutor figured she had a slam-dunk verdict, so didn't really do enough research to prove her case. Which of course led to a class discussion of biases and the importance of impartial jurors. It was an excellent learning experience, but I did not enjoy that assignment one bit. One night I fell asleep on the living room couch while preparing my case, and woke up to see a burnt body standing over me. It was gone (obviously) when I sat up, but I had similar nightmares for weeks. Despite all that, it was one of my favorite classes (along with Engish and biology!).
I really hope you end up just taking a break in five weeks, and don't stop posting forever. Your articles are always interesting and thought provoking. I will miss them if they go.
It sounds like you were birthed early as a reader!!! Also sounds like you had great teachers!
I am looking forward to stepping away. I am excited to write just for my book club and not think about Substack. Thanks for your kind words. Since I won't be thinking about Substack I will turn off all of the notifications and only read once a week. I am excited for how that will feel. That will still allow me to browse the ones I enjoy and just check in.
It would be interesting study to see the relationship between those that read and don't read and their economic status. I am reminded of a couple of stories I have read recently in the newspaper about those who are working three jobs to pay there bills. Being of a ripe old age, by the end of the day, I am far to tired to read a book. I find myself re-reading the same page several times because I am nodding off.
Also, the results of how many haven't read a book, might be skewered because of the vast amount of knowledge available on-line. I was one of those that stated the book was too repetitive. If a statement is supported logically and reinforced with an example, I don't need to have it repeated with other examples. Just get to the bottom line.
Also, of those that are prolific readers, what are they reading, fiction or non-fiction. One can learn more from reading one non-fiction book than say 50 romantic novels. One may satisfy needs in different ways. I would also argue that many become educated by living an experience rather than reading about it.
Thanks for the extensive comment John. While I did read the statistic about reading, I was reminded of my Dad's expression paper never refused ink. I think the reporting is pretty wide on the topic. For example, I get the impression polling adults allows the exclusion of high schoolers which skews the results greatly I would imagine. The most reliable polling source in the US is Pew mostly because they have been commited to WORDING THEIR QUESTIONS identically for decades. Whatever the fraction I think it would be interesting to layer in gender, race, economic status and educational attainment. That will have to be done another day and likely by another writer who explores it.
While I am not a big consumer of romance novels, I would imagine that consumption of the written word, regardless of the theme is likely a good thing for our minds. A burgeoning "crisis" for machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) is inadequate training data. My favorite analogy when I imagine how it is our brains become trained is the old observation of how a child learns to not touch a hot stove. At some point in your early life regardless of how obsessive your parents are you touch something hot and learn the pattern to not do that. While I am SURE our brains operate and train in a different way, AI/ML is modeled after human experience and tries to reinforce learning with repetition and pattern.
Finally, I think that reading of almost any kind is critical to our development. Since I believe we learn through reinforcement, I am reminded of the theory of note-taking wherein (1) you hear it (2) you write it down (3) you revisit your notes during study. Lots of our primitive senses become involved (1) auditory (2) motor control to write it (3) visual (4) sounding it out in our heads (5) recreating the lecture in our consciousness during study. You have been one of my kindest and consistent readers. You have heard my theme that almost everything of consequence is new. When a handful of our book club members pull out notebooks and their heavily tabbed copies of our subject book, I am sure their comprehension is well beyond mine.
Mark - At age 65, like your historical figures, Im still feeling jiggly about lots of things including myself, history and parenting, even though my kids are in their 30s. Suppose being jiggly can be a good thing? Thanks for giving me the new concept and visual of being Jello Jiggly. "I now embrace the historical importance of a person is like a pan of jello. It will start liquid and eventually firm up a bit. It will remain jiggly for a while"
Thanks Paul -- hope you have a great holiday.
I never saw that video before (I've lived a sheltered life) - very cool. Did I spot John Lennon in there, btw?
John Lennon was a bit of a primadonna. He didn't say very many nice things about the Stones. Mick Jagger will probably still be entertaining audiences into his mid 80s.
Mr. Jagger is the Energizer Bunny! I'm sorry the Beatles and the Stones didn't get along, though.
I'm fascinated by history, but most textbooks I remember from my junior and high school years (public schools) were dull, fact-filled tomes, and undoubtedly putting forth a point of view that was palatable for that time (the '60s) but left out vital info--like the horrors of slavery, the Holocaust, racial injustice, religious bigotry, etc. But, growing up at that time and also as a daughter of immigrants who themselves were feeling like outsiders, I had a natural skepticism that led me to be more of a critical thinker than I might have been otherwise. I believe the most important thing we can teach children in school and outside of it is to be critical thinkers, so they are able to question those in authority if need be. It's the hallmark of a free society, but I fear we're in danger of forgetting this.
Thanks as always for sharing your insights, Mark. I always learn something new, including what a Pareto Chart is (sightly horrifying in its implications) and the deeper meaning of The Rolling Stones's "Sympathy for the Devil." I had never really listened to the lyrics and ended up looking them up and discovering that the source material for the song was a fascinating and troubling book called The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, written and highly censored during the Soviet era. Now, of course, I'd like to read it. Anyway, you always have something interesting to say, Mark, and, as long as I get your newsletter in my in-box, I'll keep reading. Wishing you a happy and delicious Thanksgiving!
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment. It is so exciting to be counting down as I am felling great about my decision. I'm really not sure what I will do with my archive beyond saving it. I do think I will repurpose the book club posts into a separate space. I have carefully evaluated the archive results so I don't see a need to just leave it out there. I expect to write again but probably mostly focused on drafting a book I think. Based upon the lack of engagement I don't think Substack will be the place for that but who knows. I appreciate every one of your comments Ruth.
Thanks, Mark! I appreciate every one of your posts and wish you luck in all your future endeavors.
I was already an avid reader of everything and anything by the time I was five years old. One of the family friends was a retired teacher who took great joy in watching me devore his old textbooks. The school - and later town - librarians seemed to have a lot of fun choosing new books for me to try. My reading tended to veer towards animal studies (anything from chimpanzees to mosquitoes) and fantasy, but I would read anything, even cereal boxes and the dictionary. I read the encyclopedia for fun (granted, we didn't have Google back then!). Reading is my comfort, my escape, my entertainment, my education. I couldn't imagine a life without books. 😊
I agree that history textbooks are sadly lacking. My high school history teacher (back in 1977) supplemented our textbooks by having us do lots and lots of research projects. She even had us recreate the Nuremberg trials during the unit on WWII. She picked Joseph Goebbels as the defendant and assigned major roles to the honors students - the rest of the class acted as jurors, but they were also expected to write a research paper to justify their verdict. I had the unenviable job of defense attorney. It was a horrible job, but I did hours of research and pulled an "A," even though my defendant was found guilty. The teacher was annoyed because the student prosecutor figured she had a slam-dunk verdict, so didn't really do enough research to prove her case. Which of course led to a class discussion of biases and the importance of impartial jurors. It was an excellent learning experience, but I did not enjoy that assignment one bit. One night I fell asleep on the living room couch while preparing my case, and woke up to see a burnt body standing over me. It was gone (obviously) when I sat up, but I had similar nightmares for weeks. Despite all that, it was one of my favorite classes (along with Engish and biology!).
I really hope you end up just taking a break in five weeks, and don't stop posting forever. Your articles are always interesting and thought provoking. I will miss them if they go.
It sounds like you were birthed early as a reader!!! Also sounds like you had great teachers!
I am looking forward to stepping away. I am excited to write just for my book club and not think about Substack. Thanks for your kind words. Since I won't be thinking about Substack I will turn off all of the notifications and only read once a week. I am excited for how that will feel. That will still allow me to browse the ones I enjoy and just check in.
It would be interesting study to see the relationship between those that read and don't read and their economic status. I am reminded of a couple of stories I have read recently in the newspaper about those who are working three jobs to pay there bills. Being of a ripe old age, by the end of the day, I am far to tired to read a book. I find myself re-reading the same page several times because I am nodding off.
Also, the results of how many haven't read a book, might be skewered because of the vast amount of knowledge available on-line. I was one of those that stated the book was too repetitive. If a statement is supported logically and reinforced with an example, I don't need to have it repeated with other examples. Just get to the bottom line.
Also, of those that are prolific readers, what are they reading, fiction or non-fiction. One can learn more from reading one non-fiction book than say 50 romantic novels. One may satisfy needs in different ways. I would also argue that many become educated by living an experience rather than reading about it.
Thanks for the extensive comment John. While I did read the statistic about reading, I was reminded of my Dad's expression paper never refused ink. I think the reporting is pretty wide on the topic. For example, I get the impression polling adults allows the exclusion of high schoolers which skews the results greatly I would imagine. The most reliable polling source in the US is Pew mostly because they have been commited to WORDING THEIR QUESTIONS identically for decades. Whatever the fraction I think it would be interesting to layer in gender, race, economic status and educational attainment. That will have to be done another day and likely by another writer who explores it.
While I am not a big consumer of romance novels, I would imagine that consumption of the written word, regardless of the theme is likely a good thing for our minds. A burgeoning "crisis" for machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) is inadequate training data. My favorite analogy when I imagine how it is our brains become trained is the old observation of how a child learns to not touch a hot stove. At some point in your early life regardless of how obsessive your parents are you touch something hot and learn the pattern to not do that. While I am SURE our brains operate and train in a different way, AI/ML is modeled after human experience and tries to reinforce learning with repetition and pattern.
Finally, I think that reading of almost any kind is critical to our development. Since I believe we learn through reinforcement, I am reminded of the theory of note-taking wherein (1) you hear it (2) you write it down (3) you revisit your notes during study. Lots of our primitive senses become involved (1) auditory (2) motor control to write it (3) visual (4) sounding it out in our heads (5) recreating the lecture in our consciousness during study. You have been one of my kindest and consistent readers. You have heard my theme that almost everything of consequence is new. When a handful of our book club members pull out notebooks and their heavily tabbed copies of our subject book, I am sure their comprehension is well beyond mine.