Opus 2025-234: Click Bait: Missing Link

A bit of Clickbait caught me.  It had to do with the factors which increase intelligence or, can increase intelligence.  After a long, drawn out introduction, and an advertisement, the guy finally got to the point.  What is it that consistently increases your intelligence, your success, your income, and so forth?  Reading.

He then went into the reasons why people don’t read.  The number one reason was they were so involved in social media.  That is no surprise.  I kept waiting for him to bring up one of the key reasons why people aren’t reading anymore.  It wasn’t mentioned.

To me the big reasons why many people who used to read don’t read anymore is because that reading has become woke.  There is a playbook put out by editors and publishers that requires authors to include certain elements in everything they write.  I know that this is true because authors tell me so.  I know the results because I have stopped reading books many times, simply because the authors are forcing the politically correct nonsense of our PC culture into the story and destroying storyline in the process.  

Another reason is that the writing has become boring.  It bores people because it is so unrealistic.  I don’t mean unrealistic in that the author gets carried away with his imagination.  I mean unrealistic in the sense that it seems the writer has never met another human being outside of his I Hate America Studies program.  It also bores young boys because they are more into cavalry charges than the feelings of the handicapped kid next door.  It bores because women are taking over genres that used to be male dominated and they try to transform it to their gender studies ideal.

You all have seen this. You may not recognize it for what it is.  If you read any kind of a novel recently, you will find that there is a requirement to balance out the characters with all kinds of under-represented categories.  You’ll find that the main character will be a woman who is a great martial arts champion, has incredible physical strength and skills, is incredibly beautiful, and often times is very loose morally.  Is such a combination possible?  Maybe.  Probably not.  It is possible that Tarzan taught himself to read and write too.  Are there women who could take down the chosen man?  Of course.  Most young adult women that I know could certainly take me out of action, especially if I’m not looking.  Does that mean it’s normal?  No way.  Does it mean that healthy young man will enjoy reading such a book?  Not unless there’s a lot of very explicit sexual material.

In addition there is the nonsense that is presented as scientific, logical, and right.  Most people in their heart of hearts know this stuff is nonsense, and will start turning it off.  I know that when I’m reading theology, if the author is so steeped in their own personal prejudices and traditions I come to a point where I don’t bother going on.  The same is true history.  In fact, almost any area of life that you’re reading you will stop reading not because the author has an agenda, but because they are pushing ham-handedly.

So the fact that reading influences intelligence was interesting, but the Podcaster overlooked one of the most obvious reasons why people are reading less.

Now you know even if he didn’t.

homo unius libri