Does what a person read have a rather noteworthy impact on them?

Average_Psycho

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Alright... not sure how far I will get with this... but anyways...

Depending on what a person's reading material is, will they be afftected from such material as to alter their opinion, or personality?

I myself enjoy very long, wordy, and dark novels. My favourite authors are Anne Rice and Stephen King, and I'm not sure if what I read is creating an impact on how I live my life... Does anyone else have anything they would wish to add/share/elaborate?
 
I just viited the "Prussian Blue" website. Its these two cute little blonde hair, blue eyed Aryan byatches that disgust me with how innocent they portray "White Power". Anyways I read a little from one of the books they advertise on their site, and wow. I've changed. I hate everybody, even myself! NOOOOOOOOO! not really, but the SCARY part is that when you read it objectively-----I can see how some people could make sense of it. As for DENIAL of the HOLOCAUST??!!! Thats just stupid. They were homeschooled w/ textbooks of pre civil rights think 1950's. Yea I'm looking at this pic of them now where they've got on these smiley face t-shirts, but the smileys have Hitler mustaches!

If you can read objectively you shouldn't fall into that "wow I believe all of this" thinking. Kinda like the Bible/Koran/etc. CRAP I am not turning this religious!!!!!!

IGNORANCE IS EVERYWHERE! I believe that ignorance is the most common problem with people in general.:eek:kashii:

And Im ignorantly not going to bed and Ive been ignorantly rambling on......so.....*yawn*.......yea..........peace out nicca.

ooh 1 more thang- If a person were to read this 24/7 then I think yea its persuasive enough that it would have some kind of impact on them not only conciously- but sub-conciously as well.
 
Hmmm... When i was reading Harry Potter i sometimes wanted to be as smart as Hermione is. Infact for three months or something like that, i was studying a lot and my marks were even better then before. However, i got tired of it. :relief:
 
Yes, what I have read has definitely changed me. Many of my principles in life come from what I have read. I wanted something to believe in, so I read about different religions, which led me to Philosophy and History and Science, and all the books I read on those subjects, together with conversations and I had with different people, and some introspection, changed my beliefs bit by bit. I think that reading has given me the knowledge to base my opinions on facts.
 
I would have to say that reading a number has opened my up to all sorts of ideas. A book that really made me think of how the government can control every aspect of your life was "1984". It really changed the way I thought about government. Anne Rice novels has helped me develop ideas about the supernatural. :cool: I'm a big fan of fiction literature because for reason, it makes more sense to me.
 
I believe that the material one can read can not only have an impact on them, but can also insipire them, change them, educate them, etc with their beliefs and how they perceive the world. I should know, I've been changed a lot by books. :cool:

Doc :wave:
 
I think the original question can be answered quite simply with one word ...

"Absolutely"!

(For better or for worse ...!)

?W????
 
Average_Psycho said:
I myself enjoy very long, wordy, and dark novels. My favourite authors are Anne Rice and Stephen King, and I'm not sure if what I read is creating an impact on how I live my life...
That might be because you are reading novels. I'm not saying that novels can't be inspirational or don't have any value, but on the whole, books by Stephen King and Anne Rice induces less thought than, say, Socrates, Voltaire, Wittgenstein or Macchiaveli. While novels can sometimes be used as allegory for a greater examination of the human condition, I look to fiction for entertainment more than enlightenment.

As for a modern book that has impacted my thinking, John Robbins's "Diet for a New America" was especially gripping and very relevant. Also interesting and very brief was John Gatto's "Dumbing us Down," which is an insider's view of the compulsory education system that may surprise you. Russel Mokhiber's "Corporate Crime and Violence" raises a lot of questions about the nature of Corporations and what they do. If you would like an take on American History, I recommend Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States," it's full of stuff you won't find in a school textbook.
 
:japanese: That taught that to us at school (Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, etc.) I did not read. Only "miracle" and good memory on told by teachers allowed to avoid " the big problems " at school. But, in ???p?~?~?y?y years, I " up to holes " have read to books and magazines (that were accessible during " Soviet times ") devoted to a fantasy both scientific theories and hypotheses. Following "step" became reading " forbidden in the Soviet union " literatures "Zen" . In "secret" I photographed these "hand-written" texts and printed out to friends (being surprised, that in these texts such "terrible", that for their presence allow three years of prison( )). I have left school already under influence of east and western literature. But from all read then and later in me there was only that I have gathered from the Zen. It appeared the most real knowledge and influence. Later, when already were ???x?????u?~?? Christian, Muslim, the doctrine of the Buddha, etc., my opinion has not changed also I to practise there was seriously a Zen. And this I have made a choice for two reasons:
- From the very beginning the Zen has seemed to me very "familiar" and "close", as if I already once "knew" it...
- The Zen, met to my perception...
I think, that this "choice" has been predetermined...

Much, that influences us, but we choose from this that corresponds to our perception and conditions in which we live... If since childhood, in "kindergarten" and school, to you inspire, that the person from all people it only "Lenin", reclining in the Mausoleum to which come from all world (!) (unique " the invention of communists " concerning foreigners) only the Foresight can rescue you from This ...:japanese:
 
nice gaijin said:
That might be because you are reading novels. I'm not saying that novels can't be inspirational or don't have any value, but on the whole, books by Stephen King and Anne Rice induces less thought than, say, Socrates, Voltaire, Wittgenstein or Macchiaveli. While novels can sometimes be used as allegory for a greater examination of the human condition, I look to fiction for entertainment more than enlightenment.
In general I agree with you, but probably the books that have changed me most are novels. His Dark Materials changed a lot of my ideas about religion and morality. Crime and Punishment made me understand about determinism. The Chymical Wedding taught me a lot about relationships. I think novels are usually just entertainment, but when they change you it's a big change.
 
Reading can have a huge effect on you, in a number of different ways. Primarily because it exposes you things you might not have thought about otherwise.

Like anything, if you're exposed to the same kind of thing over and over for along time, it can skew your perspective on the issue--but with books there is the opportunity to be exposed to something that you never would have encountered.

Take the recent trend of making villains and monsters the hero of a story:

Before, we only ever saw a vampire or a theif or a killer as a "bad guy"--we never understood his motivations, and never considered that just because we don't like what they do, it doesn't make them bad.

Whether this "sympathy for the devil" is itself good or bad is a matter of opinion--but as a general rule I think sympathetic understanding is better then ignorant bigotry.

I find that more often than not a book doesn't "change" a person so much as it causes them to discover their own beliefs.

Ofter we accept certan things without ever thinking about them--when a book or anything else causes us to examine our "beliefs", often we find what we truly believe is quite a bit differant than what we thought.
 
Wow, those are all fascinating responses... Lately, I've found myself more interested in non-fiction topics... though I have yet to actually find a book... I've been hideously busy with midterms and more tests and worrying about my high school for next year.

I want to read some books on Russia, or the "Soviet Union" as it was however long ago. We're studying Russia now in social studies and I'm Russian, and I'm extremely interested in it.

I'd also love some books on science.... I love science, it's one of my best subjects and I think I might try for a scientific field of some sort in University (if I'm lucky).

I guess I could be called a geek, but I do find books wonderful. Many of the girls at my school don't care for books at all, and I find that sad. They're not interested in literature at all and they're so immature it's not even funny... Dad says it's not so much that they're immature, moreso as it's I am more mature. I'm thankful to my passion for books, because I don't think I'd be as good a student as I am, or as mature as I am... If I didn't read so many books (currently readin 4), I don't think I'd be as "good" a person (or so I'm told) as I am...


Sorry for not being around much to offer more of my opinion. :sorry: Midterms are over so I should be around more often...
 
Average_Psycho said:
I'd also love some books on science.... I love science, it's one of my best subjects and I think I might try for a scientific field of some sort in University (if I'm lucky).
Look for something by Paul Davies, who writes mainly on Physics - such as How to Build a Time Machine or The Fifth Miracle He is very easy to read. I also like Stephen Jay Gould, although his style is a bit harder to get into. He wrote about all kinds of stuff, but mainly palaeontology and evolution.
Average_Psycho said:
I guess I could be called a geek, but I do find books wonderful.
Being a geek is a good thing! A love of learning is something to be proud of.
Average_Psycho said:
I'm thankful to my passion for books, because I don't think I'd be as good a student as I am, or as mature as I am... If I didn't read so many books
Studies (I can't find any, you'll have to take my word for it that they exist :gomen:) have shown that reading is very important for developing intelligence.
 
Paul Davies..... Oooh, I like physics... Very easy to read? Uhh... what reading level are his books? I actually enjoy more challenging books... :relief: But I'll surely look into his written works. :cool: Palaeontology and evolution, more of what I like XD I guess I like everything science XD

I know... people always dump on geeks for being "uncool" or whatever, and I find that very immature... Who cares about what is and what is not cool? Being smart and knowing what you're doing is cool, not skipping classes and losing your future. My science teacher told my class the other day (may have been wednesday of this week), that, in terms of talking to us individually yet not, that only I can do what I was born to do... Everyone has a specific reason for being born, and only that one person can fulfill that... You have to apply yourself however, of course. I love learning new things. It's so awesome, I love it so much.

I take your word for it. ^^ That is very interesting... Makes me even prouder of my library. But it's still very miniscule... I must have more books... I do not think there really is such thing as too much books... They help you learn, you can get a whole lot of information from books, why not embrace that?
 
Average_Psycho said:
Paul Davies..... Oooh, I like physics... Very easy to read? Uhh... what reading level are his books? I actually enjoy more challenging books... :relief:
'Easy to read' in the sense that you don't need a Physics degree to understand them - the stuff he writes about is challenging, but he describes it in a way that's easy to understand.
 
Sabro - I will forgive your shameless plug (j/k :p ). It looks pretty good actually. I just checked, and it is published over here - so it's on my shopping list for my next Amazon purchase! (He looks cute too - do you look alike? :blush: )
 

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