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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   6439 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026

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Why are you making a moral argument instead of addressing my mechanical one?

I am wondering if we are even having the same conversation. Are my messages getting through? Is there some corruption in the database?

I do not believe that you can learn to expand what you like by reading more of what you already like.

I absolutely loved Eragon as a kindergartener. Was it the absolute peak of literary achievement? Absolutely not. But it hadn't been for books like Eragon, I never would have been interested in reading books like the Dragonriders of Pern, or from there Foundation and I, Robot, or from there Anathem and Void*Star.

You enjoyed Eragon not because you were a kindergarten-level reader but because you were a child. If you are already not a child, or not a kindergartner, there is no point in starting with children's literature to cultivate an enjoyment of reading: you should just read actually good books.

I am wondering if we are even having the same conversation. Are my messages getting through? Is there some corruption in the database?

There's definitely some sort of miscommunication going on because you remain convinced that I'm trying to prove that reading the classics is totally ineffective at getting people to read, when in point of fact I'm merely saying that while that may work for some people, the fact that it hasn't worked for everyone suggests that we should try and adapt a different tactic.

If you are already not a child, or not a kindergartner, there is no point in starting with children's literature to cultivate an

I literally never suggested that? I suggested people read slop. Meaning-- I suggested that people prioritize finding books that are enjoyable to read even though they lack serious literary quality. That doesn't mean specifically children's literature. There's slop for all ages of people.

you remain convinced that I'm trying to prove that reading the classics is totally ineffective at getting people to read, when in point of fact I'm merely saying that while that may work for some people, the fact that it hasn't worked for everyone suggests that we should try and adapt a different tactic.

It's not really this that I'm convinced of. It's more like, I don't really think that reading is valuable in itself unless you are reading something worth reading. I also don't think that reading the classics has been tried and found wanting; mostly I think it hasn't been tried at all by "nonreaders". I also don't think that the tactic of reading garbage is likely to lead to appreciation of actually good literature - I expect it will merely increase appreciation of garbage.

I literally never suggested that?

Sure. I'm responding to the Eragon example you brought up. My argument works against reading slop just as well.

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