Reading slow

I haven’t been reading much over the past weeks. Months even. The library closed for a couple of weeks. Just before i had returned the books i had. A week and a half ago i went to the library to see if i could find anything.

Today i started reading it again. I was only in for a couple of pages anyway. It is from the historical philosophical section from the library. I don’t know anything specific about the quality of this book and this writer, H.W. von der Dunk, but i do enjoy reading this, albeit slowly.

From what i gather from the title and the introduction this book is about the influence of exact sciences and technology on our current society. The large groups of specialists make it difficult to understand each other.

I do find myself reading so much slower than i used to do a couple of years ago. While i let a sentence show its meaning to me, i can read it for a couple of times at least. And i know i will forget it in a few hours.

I do miss the rush into a story sometimes. But that is what fiction is for. This book is non-fiction, and it does take more time. I do hope i can finish it one day.

I do find myself thinking about history. Our view of the past as human beings. The past that has brought us where we are right now. The past of which we only know so little. Only through texts, lists, drawings, paintings, buildings, institutes, legal documents and any other leftover from the past can we make a guess to what living in a time before ours was like. It is very difficult for us to see what makes us who we are, what makes us different from the ones from the past, what makes us the same.

I remember reading the book by Walter J. Ong called Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (1982), way back in the 90s. I ended up buying this book, since i loved it so much. The development of human life in a world growing from a completely oral society to our current high technological use of secondary language is astonishing. This is so difficult to get a clear grip on.

Stuff to think about. Salute!

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De wereld als getal
De wereld als getal