I don't mean to offend, but you almost proven the article correct.
He is stating we are becoming a non-reading society. Literacy is about being able to read or write, not the ability to learn new things. You may be correct we are learning a lot more about the world, but we aren't doing it so through the medium of books. I would suggest audio or visual mediums are the new deliverers of information, with context given by Wikipedia.
The value he is presenting, from my point of view, is not pure knowledge gaining, but communal knowledge. At the beginning, he is giving his perspective of a time when everyone read at least a certain set of books, but the island is vast and so has the wondrous coastline to a negative impact.
Also, I could read a Wikipedia article and retain nothing and read a 500 page book and think about it weekly. Interest in the topic is important to retention so is the quality of the book.
I say these things as I watch three hours of YouTube a day... smh.
He is stating we are becoming a non-reading society. Literacy is about being able to read or write, not the ability to learn new things. You may be correct we are learning a lot more about the world, but we aren't doing it so through the medium of books. I would suggest audio or visual mediums are the new deliverers of information, with context given by Wikipedia.
The value he is presenting, from my point of view, is not pure knowledge gaining, but communal knowledge. At the beginning, he is giving his perspective of a time when everyone read at least a certain set of books, but the island is vast and so has the wondrous coastline to a negative impact.
Also, I could read a Wikipedia article and retain nothing and read a 500 page book and think about it weekly. Interest in the topic is important to retention so is the quality of the book.
I say these things as I watch three hours of YouTube a day... smh.