For Ever Reading...

Arthur Schopenhauer once wrote in a short essay, "For ever reading, never to be read!" This simple phrase has stuck withe me for at least the couple of months since I read the essay, but I think it has a lot to say. So much, in fact, that I decided not to read while I was waiting for my dinner to cook, but to write instead.

What that statement really is, is a challenge. It is a challenge to pursue activity and creativity, and to really see what one is made of. In my opinion, we live in a world of self-servitude, meaning we like to have things handed to us. We watch television because it hands us entertainment, we have the internet on our phones because it hands us information. Book reading, is different, though. To read a book, one must be able to sit down somewhere and take the time to actively read the words on the page. What is more, is that the reader must use his or her mind to actually make sense of what the words mean. I doubt that I would meet much opposition when I say that reading is an activity of the mind, and a worthy activity to consume our time, but Schopenhauer challenges us to take one step further.

The apostle Paul once said of spiritual gifts that they first ought to edify the entire congregation. Schopenhauer takes that point and applies to to education/knowledge/learning. Let's think about it: what good does it do to sit in a library and read all day (certainly more than sitting in front of a television, but keeping Schopenhauer's next step in mind...)? Not much. It does plenty of good for the reader, but on the other hand, does it? The reader, presumably, gathers a wealth of information and new, refreshing insights from his/her day of reading. Good. But is not application of that new knowledge what makes it count? Is not potential energy a mere concept, whereas kinetic energy actually does something? Is a faith without works not dead?

Reading definitely takes ambition and patience, but writing takes even more. To write something intelligent takes more than a creative mind. It takes an understanding of the way things work and an understanding of how to apply it. I just finished the book White Teeth by Zadie Smith. It was brilliant. She draws eloquent analogies, has a distinctive understanding of how several different cultures operate, and weaves different perspectives on numerous topics into her fiction. At the same time, she draws the reader in to enjoy a beautiful process of character development. It was a great read. I should rephrase that: It was a great write. Smith took an idea that she could have kept to herself and shared it with the world (it is on the New York Times bestseller list). She had ideas that were influenced by one thing or another. She read books that helped her develop her own writing style. She had a vision that would be a lot easier to develop in her head that take the time and money to write on paper. Still, she wrote it, and now more than just Zadie Smith is benefiting from her ideas.

The same is obviously true of nonfiction, my genre of choice. I am currently reading a book called Hamlet's Blackberry by William Powers, which explores the hyper-connectivity of the modern world. Powers made observations, formulated ideas and hypotheses, and did his fair share of researching to polish his idea in his own mind. What takes real ambition is authors' willingness to write. Let me repeat my own hypothesis - what good does it do to obtain all of this information and store it away? Nothing! Share it! Teach it! (Believe me, I would if I could find a teaching position!) Write it! Debate it! Let it grow! There is no worse sentence for the fruits of education than to let it rot away untouched.

Another point - if one does not share his or her thoughts through writing or some other medium, the thoughts will atrophy and disappear. Just as obtaining and absorbing and hording knowledge is a non-edifying way to use said information, not exercising it is just as bad. This is one of my greatest regrets. I value the intellectual conversations I might have these days because it gives me a chance to exercise what I have learned and use it in different situations. I wish I would have chosen do this in college. I wish that while the knowledge was still fresh in my mind, I would have had the good sense to put myself in challenging situations where I could use what I know to gain more knowledge. Sharing knowledge will always yield enormous returns. If one should choose to invest a certain amount of knowledge or learning in another class or individual who is willing to talk about it, no doubt that knowledge will return with a new spin or perspective. Just as Schopenhauer begs of intellectuals to share what they have learned, I would say that a dynamic conversation would also do the trick.

I think what Schopenhauer means when he laments, "For ever reading..." is this: Please make sure that the reader is not the only one benefiting from what has been read.