tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2550881201507518992.post4032063628334829474..comments2023-05-12T11:57:24.240-04:00Comments on ill iterate: Library Talk in Long Islandill iteratehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04362826735059413959noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2550881201507518992.post-26015233885315650942007-09-28T10:37:00.000-04:002007-09-28T10:37:00.000-04:00Ed. You took the words from my mouth. I hate accus...Ed. You took the words from my mouth. I hate accusations of the dumbing down of America too. And good point about the normalization of college admissions AFTER WWII.ill iteratehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04362826735059413959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2550881201507518992.post-43954603884495004212007-09-28T07:58:00.000-04:002007-09-28T07:58:00.000-04:00Anne, I really don’t know what people mean when th...Anne, I really don’t know what people mean when they talk about the dumbing down of America. You could argue that radio dumbed down America. It takes more focus and imagination, not to mention free time, to read a book than listen to a radio play. With a book I have to imagine the sound of rain, the sound of door creaks, the sound of each character’s voice, etc. Radio spoon feeds all that audio information to me. Movies, comics and television are then just one more step in the dumbing process by supplying visual information on top of the audio. I guess the only way we can get any stupider is by having the knowledge of a book instantly implanted in our heads. You know like Jimmy Neutron’s books on bubble gum concept—Romeo and Juliet with a pina colada flavor.<BR/><BR/>Looking at the America historically, say 1620 to today, the average American has never been very culturally sophisticated or literate. I think most people forgot that it wasn’t until after WWII that going to college became a common experience for Americans. Prior to that only the rich ,or those fortune enough to come to the attention of the wealthy, got a college degree. Print technology didn’t make coffee table books with high quality color photos of the great works of art available until after WWII. So I think for most of American history, this librarian would find Americans pretty dumb. And I guess most of humanity would be pretty dumb for this librarian since it is only in the last hundred years that books have really been available and affordable for the masses.Ed Sizemorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03039485764655828476noreply@blogger.com