Substantial piece today. From a book about the decline of reading.<\/p>\n
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Washington Post, opinion by James Marriott, today 7 Oct<\/strong>: Is society growing stupider? The clues are simple and repeated.<\/a>, subtitled “Shorter sentences and monotonous lyrics form a sign of something bigger.”<\/p>\n This is adapted from the writer’s book The New Dark Ages: The Death of Reading and the Dawn of the Post-Literate Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n (But recall that effect identified by Pinker and others about the increase in IQs… what was that due to?) Flynn effect: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Flynn_effect<\/p>\n Once upon a time, the idea that the world was growing stupider was mostly confined to the realm of dyspeptic reactionary polemic. But nowadays, the idea is increasingly mainstream. The belief that smartphones are \u201crotting our brains\u201d is a widely repeated clich\u00e9. Data seems to corroborate this feeling, too: Studies have shown declines in IQ over the past two decades<\/a>, with the sharpest drops among age brackets that use their phones the most. Students themselves have reported since the 2010s that they have difficulty concentrating and remembering<\/a>. One study found that even having a phone turned off on a table nearby may be enough to impair a student\u2019s academic performance<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n With examples of how films and songs are becoming simpler. We’ve heard this particular point before:<\/p>\n In a world of constant distraction, scriptwriters can no longer rely on audiences to pay attention. Executives at Netflix have reportedly demanded simpler scripts in which characters repeatedly announce what they are doing, so that scrolling viewers can keep track of what is going on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And then contrasting bestselling books in 1960 to those of today. And movies. And the preference these days for series and franchises that repeat the same basic story over and over.<\/p>\n Concluding:<\/p>\n Still, trends toward simplification are worth worrying about. If culture loses its capacity to sustain complexity, readers, moviegoers and music enthusiasts may find themselves with increasingly inadequate understandings of the world. Self-help books and derivative films are fine in themselves, but there are aspects of human experience that cannot be described by lists, formulaic plots or declarative sentences. Not everything can be said simply, and understanding requires sustained concentration from readers, viewers or listeners. If they are distracted and unfocused, culture risks being transformed into a smartphone wasteland. Audiences may find themselves fated to endless repetition and pastiche, song by song, remake by remake.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As always, it’s worth wondering if there isn’t some underlying issue. No one read books before some 600 years ago, let alone watched movies. Perhaps the reason books that seem complex to us were popular 75 years ago were because there were fewer options then.<\/p>\n Stepping out even further. What functions do books, movies, songs provide? Considering just books, some writers (Pinker?) credit books, especially novels in the 17th and 18th century, with increasing empathy toward different kinds of people, which in turn inspired various civil rights movements. More broadly, fiction of any kind can be seen as a kind of rehearsal for events of life, from the marriage trials of Jane Austen to the supernatural threats of horror. Much to think about here.<\/p>\n \\\\\\<\/p>\n JMG, today 7 Oct<\/strong>: NYC Sees Record Low In Violent Crimes So Far In 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Once again, conservatives are terribly worried about problems that don’t exist. (The even more ridiculous issue of theirs is about transsexuals, a tiny, tiny fraction of the population.)<\/p>\n \\<\/p>\n JMG, today 7 Oct<\/strong>: Alabama Forces Schools To Use \u201cGulf Of America\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The world laughs. The moment Trump is gone, everyone will forget about this. And the people in Alabama will forget they did this.<\/p>\n \\<\/p>\n They say it right out loud.<\/p>\n Right Wing Watch, Kyle Mantyla, 6 Oct 2026<\/strong>: White Nationalist Jared Taylor Celebrates That The GOP Recognizes It Is ‘The Party For White People’<\/a><\/p>\n \\<\/p>\n Another example of neglecting real problems in favor of prioritizing their ideologies and prejudices.<\/p>\n Salon, Amanda Marcotte, today 7 Oct<\/strong>: Pete Hegseth\u2019s holy war on \u201cweirdos\u201d targets most Americans<\/a>, subtitled “Forget Iran \u2014 the defense secretary is focused on forcing his religion on everyone else”<\/p>\n \\<\/p>\n Latest example of how Trump is a dolt.<\/p>\n JMG, today 7 Oct<\/strong>: Trump Suggests Foreign Trade Will Soon Be Unneeded<\/a><\/p>\n If you don’t buy anything,<\/em> you save all that money! But then, you don’t have<\/em> anything.<\/p>\n \\\\<\/p>\n I have got to leave to find my way.<\/p>\n