Xref: utzoo sci.lang:4451 comp.cog-eng:1080 sci.psychology:1782 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!amdahl!pyramid!prls!philabs!ttidca!hollombe From: hollombe@ttidca.TTI.COM (The Polymath) Newsgroups: sci.lang,comp.cog-eng,sci.psychology Subject: Re: Effects of poor writing? (Long) Message-ID: <4365@ttidca.TTI.COM> Date: 4 May 89 19:44:01 GMT References: <4352@ttidca.TTI.COM> <3893@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcb.tti.com (The Polymath) Organization: The Cat Factory Lines: 37 In article <3893@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Greg Lee) writes: }From article <4352@ttidca.TTI.COM>, by hollombe@ttidca.TTI.COM (The Polymath): }" In article <2000@trantor.harris-atd.com> chuck@trantor.harris-atd.com (Chuck Musciano) writes: }" }" If you think the crap and pap that even the best of TV programming }" presents can replace books, you must be pretty illiterate yourself. Film }" isn't significantly better and radio isn't even a visual medium. } }Let's try to distinguish prediction from wishful thinking, shall }we? Let's. If you say it, it's prediction. If I say it, it's wishful thinking. Right? }It can happen that TV replaces books even if you don't }like that. Because the future may be horrifying won't keep }it from happening. If freedom really depends on literacy, it is }certainly an odd way of reasoning to assume that we will have }freedom and to conclude that therefore literacy must endure. TV may _supplant_ reading, as the reading skills of the general population decline, but it will never _replace_ reading. I can't foresee a world where every technical paper, every high school exam, every master's thesis etc., etc., is presented as a totally audio-visual experience with no recourse to writing or letters at all. Economically, it's far cheaper to produce and publish a good book than even the worst film or TV show. Look at how many books are published annualy vs. TV shows, even though there's at least one TV in nearly every home in the nation. TV has its place and books have theirs. The fact that some people can't or won't read doesn't mean one is going to replace the other. -- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, hollombe@ttidca.tti.com) Illegitimati Nil Citicorp(+)TTI Carborundum 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. (213) 452-9191, x2483 Santa Monica, CA 90405 {csun|philabs|psivax}!ttidca!hollombe