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Jobs: "People dont read anymore" ?!
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Personally, I think the kindle is a waste of time (give me paper any day), but I've _always_ got a book on the go.
Steve: I know there's a lot of folks out there who rarely read. There's also a lot of folks out there who can't string a sentence together. That doesn't mean you have to assume that the lowest common denominator is, in fact, the norm.
Steve: I know there's a lot of folks out there who rarely read. There's also a lot of folks out there who can't string a sentence together. That doesn't mean you have to assume that the lowest common denominator is, in fact, the norm.
I think it's accurate, at least for me. I always loved to read and consider myself very well read, but nowadays I just don't have time to do it like I used to. The only real free time I have is when I'm sitting in the car driving to and from work, so I listen to audio books as I can't read the real thing while I'm driving. I think there are many people that are in the same boat. So Mr. Jobs wasn't trying to be insulting, he's just telling the truth. We don't read because we don't have time, not because we don't want to.
I think his statistic is accurate. I think I read it somewhere. (Cough, cough-- heard it on NPR.)
Sure, but maybe, just maybe, people would read more if books/magazines became more available? I know I listen to a lot more music after the iPod came than I used to.
It reminds me a little of when he said no one would ever want to watch videos on an iPod etc. Didn't take that long for him to "change his mind". Point being, he does make strategic statements.
It reminds me a little of when he said no one would ever want to watch videos on an iPod etc. Didn't take that long for him to "change his mind". Point being, he does make strategic statements.
I don't know of people many who sit around and just read books - kids in school maybe, people commuting on the train...
I know after working on computers all day and reading the screen for almost 8 hours straight, I don't really feel like going home to read for a few hours more...
I know after working on computers all day and reading the screen for almost 8 hours straight, I don't really feel like going home to read for a few hours more...
How could books and magazines become more available?
I think he's right on when he says people read an average of one a year.
Cheers.
I would tend to agree with Jobs' observation. Let me explain:
I come from a family where my father is an avid, frequent reader. For as long as I can remember, we have given each other books for Christmas, birthdays, etc. By now, our personal libraries number in the hundreds. However, my mother, sister, and brother probably haven't read an entire book in more than a decade. My wife, similar story, although she has a sister that reads those little Manga books (does that count?). So, let us assume that in every family of four, over the last twenty five years or so, there has been on average one less avid reader for the total block. Some of this is explicable; people work more, have more outside hobbies and interests, or get there "information" from the internet or TV as opposed to print media. In the end, this works out to a generally lower readership by the population in general.
In my free time, I go to the public library. While I am there, I would imagine that one out of every five people I see ever actually sits down and reads anything. Some that do read only magazines or newspapers. Most of the computer users are using MySpace or Facebook. Most of them are kids or teens that just run around or talk much too loudly.
I've read more than fifty books in the last seven months, and I hope to keep my book reading up in the next four years (med school, etc.), but I can definitely see where Jobs gets this impression. I went to a High School where it seemed like everyone was so viciously anti-intellectual (or anti-literate) as to almost defy imagination. A sickening place to be if you value learning, intellectual cultivation, or have varied interests outside of football.
Personally, I think the fall of reading = the fall of civilization. My youth was essentially a festival of reading as much as possible on a very broad array of subjects. More or less, I attribute my successes in life to this information foundation I built from reading. It is a shame that people don't do it more often.
I come from a family where my father is an avid, frequent reader. For as long as I can remember, we have given each other books for Christmas, birthdays, etc. By now, our personal libraries number in the hundreds. However, my mother, sister, and brother probably haven't read an entire book in more than a decade. My wife, similar story, although she has a sister that reads those little Manga books (does that count?). So, let us assume that in every family of four, over the last twenty five years or so, there has been on average one less avid reader for the total block. Some of this is explicable; people work more, have more outside hobbies and interests, or get there "information" from the internet or TV as opposed to print media. In the end, this works out to a generally lower readership by the population in general.
In my free time, I go to the public library. While I am there, I would imagine that one out of every five people I see ever actually sits down and reads anything. Some that do read only magazines or newspapers. Most of the computer users are using MySpace or Facebook. Most of them are kids or teens that just run around or talk much too loudly.
I've read more than fifty books in the last seven months, and I hope to keep my book reading up in the next four years (med school, etc.), but I can definitely see where Jobs gets this impression. I went to a High School where it seemed like everyone was so viciously anti-intellectual (or anti-literate) as to almost defy imagination. A sickening place to be if you value learning, intellectual cultivation, or have varied interests outside of football.
Personally, I think the fall of reading = the fall of civilization. My youth was essentially a festival of reading as much as possible on a very broad array of subjects. More or less, I attribute my successes in life to this information foundation I built from reading. It is a shame that people don't do it more often.
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