“The primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered mind is a man’s ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company. Be careful, however, lest this reading of many authors and books of every sort may tend to make you discursive and unsteady. You must linger among a limited number of master-thinkers, and digest their works, if you would derive ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind. Everywhere means nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends. And the same thing must hold true of men who seek intimate acquaintance with no single author, but visit them all in a hasty and hurried manner. Food does no good and is not assimilated into the body if it leaves the stomach as soon as it is eaten; nothing hinders a cure so much as frequent change of medicine; no wound will heal when one salve is tried after another; a plant which is often moved can never grow strong. There is nothing so efficacious that it can be helpful while it is being shifted about. And in reading of many books is distraction. […] Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes as well; and after you have run over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested that day. This is my own custom; from the many things which I have read, I claim some one part for myself.”
Read books, read a few books, read a few books deeply.
It took me years to understand the point of decent literature. For years I just saw books as A-B, fiction books had to be cut to the chase and I read mainly guides, biographies and ‘how to’s’.
As I age, I get it. And this is why I am starting to see myself as a writer too. I always knew I could describe things but never really appreciated the value in it myself so didn’t see why anybody else would.
Apart from Theory of Mind (ToM) being impaired in autism, schizophrenia and most likely also bipolar, and improved ToM leading to generally better outcomes in all of these conditions, ToM is just extremily nice to have in general, since it is basically what the nebulous term EQ promises to be:
The ability to sense and predict other's thoughts and emotions.
As such reading, as long as it is of sufficiently high quality, is never a waste of time. Nonfiction transfers thoughts, fiction builds ToM.
From Seneca:
“The primary indication, to my thinking, of a well-ordered mind is a man’s ability to remain in one place and linger in his own company. Be careful, however, lest this reading of many authors and books of every sort may tend to make you discursive and unsteady. You must linger among a limited number of master-thinkers, and digest their works, if you would derive ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind. Everywhere means nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends. And the same thing must hold true of men who seek intimate acquaintance with no single author, but visit them all in a hasty and hurried manner. Food does no good and is not assimilated into the body if it leaves the stomach as soon as it is eaten; nothing hinders a cure so much as frequent change of medicine; no wound will heal when one salve is tried after another; a plant which is often moved can never grow strong. There is nothing so efficacious that it can be helpful while it is being shifted about. And in reading of many books is distraction. […] Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes as well; and after you have run over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested that day. This is my own custom; from the many things which I have read, I claim some one part for myself.”
Read books, read a few books, read a few books deeply.
Most worthwhile theses in larger areas may necessitate an entire book to demonstrate, reaffirm and prove, rather than a singular Substack post.
"some few citizens were actually seen reading books" "OH MY"!
It took me years to understand the point of decent literature. For years I just saw books as A-B, fiction books had to be cut to the chase and I read mainly guides, biographies and ‘how to’s’.
As I age, I get it. And this is why I am starting to see myself as a writer too. I always knew I could describe things but never really appreciated the value in it myself so didn’t see why anybody else would.
At first I thought this would be about literary fiction, due to the theming of the substack ;)
Engagement with literary fiction considerably boosts Theory of Mind.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24091705/
Apart from Theory of Mind (ToM) being impaired in autism, schizophrenia and most likely also bipolar, and improved ToM leading to generally better outcomes in all of these conditions, ToM is just extremily nice to have in general, since it is basically what the nebulous term EQ promises to be:
The ability to sense and predict other's thoughts and emotions.
As such reading, as long as it is of sufficiently high quality, is never a waste of time. Nonfiction transfers thoughts, fiction builds ToM.