Five excellent Mind Habits to Develop
Want a more useful mind? Your mind is like a muscle, it can be trained to be stronger and more efficient. Here are some good ways to help you develop your brain into a better tool. I'm not saying they're easy, but they're definitely worthwhile.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
Good morning Paul. I am very curious about your comment in your article, Five eceellent mind habits to develop. Having been an English teacher for a number of years, I would say that fiction has a great deal to teach us. How about Dickens' Great Expectations? or Conrad 's Heart of Darkness cum Apocalypse Now? or Geo. MacDonald's At the Back of the North Wind? And on and on and on. No my friend. Imagination is the heart of the matter not facts. And some would argue that 'fact' is really just and idea (imagination) anyway. Good fiction demands much intellectual sweat from its reader - its not just entertainment but a wrestling of minds over ideas. Who did you say was your English Lit teacher? Take care.
April 19th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
I must agree with Jean Gurnett. To say that only non-fiction can teach us something is ridiculous. There are non-fiction titles out there that are completely useless, while some fiction can teach us much more than we think. I have recently finished two books, the first was non-fiction (scorched earth - a description of the German Eastern front during WWII) and it taught me history and military strategy. The second was fiction (the last temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis), which taught me about humanity, life, and many other things I have yet to comprehend. Dostoyevsky, Camus, de Sade, Richler and Whitman have as much to teach us as any non-fiction writer
April 20th, 2006 at 2:15 am
Wow- what strong rejections of a simple suggestion. I think it proves the value of Paul's ideas, because he only said that non-fiction is worth a try, and that fiction doesn't teach us as much. In my view that's realistic, because fiction presents the ideas of the author not necessarily with a broader base. To some extent non-fiction also presents the ideas of the author but generally in a much broader base of facts so the reader can develop their own ideas based on broader understanding.
April 20th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
I read almost anything - from kid's books to scientific articles - and I figure that I will learn something from all of it, even if it is only a "one-liner" to use later on. If the material looks interesting, or amusing, or simply seems to have possibilities, then I will read it. I read Hare Kirsna magazines if they are available and nothing better is on offer !
I very seldom read a book twice, as my memory works well and tells me I have already read it although many years ago etc. I cannot read the same book over and over like some folk do ! I swap genres when it suits me, and learn all sorts of things I may never make use of, but find it all enjoyable, just the same. Not too happy reading e-books as you can't carry them around with you to finish!
April 20th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
Hi there
I actually wrote this article. What I said wasn't intented to be as black and white as some of the above seem to have interpreted. I'm not saying fiction is worthless, and obviously Dickens, Shakespeare etc have something to teach. But Shakespeare himself said "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy". In my opinion (and it's just an opinion) none of these authors imagined worlds could touch the amazing truth once it was discovered. Was there ever a fiction work written that was as breathtaking as say Principia Mathematica, the theory of evolution, or the theory of relativity.
April 20th, 2006 at 9:51 pm
as breathtaking? yes but we are comparing apples and oranges. I believe we learn about ourselves and human relationships, about how we feel and what we believe in from relating to fiction authors stories. I believe we learn about the world, accumulative technological achievement and even psychology from non fiction. basically these are both parts of our psyche that need to be nourished two sides of our brain that both need plenty of activity. if either is left unattended we are diminished.
April 21st, 2006 at 2:27 am
Einstein of relativity fame said it himself - "Imagination is more important than knowledge." He came up with the theory of relativity by imagining himself taking a ride on a photon and trying to figure out what would happen if...
For what it's worth, I read everything, whether labelled fiction or non-fiction. And a lot of "non-fiction" is full of fiction! In any case all "non-fiction" is fiction to someone anyways as we all have our own construction of reality. I have yet to find a "truth" that is universally accepted by every single person on the planet.
April 26th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
PL SEND IN BRIEF 5 EXCELLENT HABIT SO THAT I CAN PRACTISE.I AM VERY MUCH ANXIOUS TO READ THE SAME.
REGARDS
April 26th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
What is fiction, other than matters and ideas based on non-fiction experience.
April 26th, 2006 at 8:26 pm
There is more to learn about the world than the explanations and/or theories of the why's and how's so to speak. On behalf of children (a place we all begin as readers) fiction is as important and sometimes more important in the early years. How many children read a fiction book about a beloved horse only to go on and become a Vet! And the Harry Potter books turned more non-reading children into readers overnight than any non-fiction book would or could have done. And I just finished a novel that included explanations about the wine industry/grapes/etc. in France worked into the story so beautifully, that it was interesting and fun to read.