An opinion by Gardner Molloy, the canny mason
The other day I heard Trump give one of his fabulously incoherent and contradictory press statements. Utterly untrammelled by reason, responsibility, reality or even grammar. Bearing no relationship to either conscience or consequence. A child, in a fireworks factory, determined to prove their competence at striking matches.
It occurred to me that, not so very long ago, the ability to read and write, and establishing a repertoire of assimilated knowledge was considered an essential ingredient of any complete human being. The pursuit of a university degree is described as ‘reading’ the subject in question and the qualification is only granted on production of a dissertation displaying your understanding of that reading. I’ve never been to university, and I certainly don’t mean that those without a degree are, by default, incomplete. But I do read a lot, and I enjoy conversations with other readers the most.
I looked into it and it turns out there is a basis in science behind the phenomenon. Learning to read rewires the brain. The ability to hold the meaning of an arrangement of letters the eye perceives and associate that with a concept or a feeling allows the brain to develop analytical skills and, crucially, empathy. Writing allows us to free our thoughts from the ‘working memory’ part of our brains and scrutinise and organise them.
These developments probably define human culture more than any other. Over time you can plot the rise and fall of civilisations against their ability to read, write and disseminate information. The European ‘dark’ ages reflect a time when little or none of these activities took place.
The less we use these skills the less facility for these essential human attributes we have. As a culture currently we are choosing convenience over competence. As we leave the cool, clear daylight of reason behind in favour of the bright, hot, spotlights of novelty, celebrity and circus we diminish our intrinsic, hard earned capacity.
I’ve always said that we get the politicians we deserve as a society. I think the current occupant of the White House is the perfect embodiment of this phenomenon.
See Gardner’s first article on this blog: Why Can’t Iran Have a Nuclear Bomb?
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