How Can We Be Better Readers?
In today’s tl;dr world, we are tempted to read a quick summary and then move on to a funny dog video. If it happens to be a bad day and we stumble upon a piece of writing that isn’t prescriptive, instructive or offer some framework of structure, we are quick to criticise. It is like how when we were younger, our moms were well prepared with their hands on their hips way before we make the mistakes — “Well, well, well. Somebody is gonna get hurt.”
But, can we consider the alternative that some pieces of writing are meant to be observational or meditative?
Yes, a lot of us come across as a confident authority. It is straightforward. It is forthright. It is considered appropriate given how the longer the article is, the less likely someone will read through till the end. We can’t possibly include every qualification or second thought that occurs to us. But, can we consider how healthy a piece of writing can be, especially when we put in our thoughts in formulating an argument only to come up with yet another rebuttal of our own?
If the refuting of argument turns the reader away, the reader is better off watching more funny dog videos.
From an early age, we’ve been taught to define our arguments as succinct and compelling as possible. We ought to omit wishy-washy qualifications such as “In my opinion”, “I think” and “It seems likely.” As a result, some readers tend to burst into a wounded outrage when our words fail to reflect their experience. It is as though their friends are in the back and all of them are cued to go “Ohhhh!!” It is as though they each have a trench coat and they would flap it before going away in swag. We would like to think that some disclaimers could go without saying; every piece of writing contains the tacit caveat: I may be wrong. Sometimes we don’t write to front as experts.
Sometimes we write in idle speculation to find out more about the subject matter and ourselves.
It is like that dialogue we have with ourselves in the shower, or the 5-minute cool down walk after a session of intense jogging. We don’t always agree with ourselves. We certainly should not expect everyone else to. I have my doubts too, but I’m figuring them out. It should come off as alarming if what we’re reading seems too easy. The more we know about any given subject, the likelier we are to include tons of boring and hard-to-flow exceptions. This is the reason why some of us struggle in writing easy pieces. We do not have the absolute certainty that we are sure. We are careful in hedging our claims.
But someone out there will confidently assure us otherwise.
Some of the best stand-up comedians are the best, not simply because they make us laugh, but it is due to them willing to say things that are true. More often than not, they do not oversimplify or miss something obvious. In contrary, they state it explicitly. The embarrassing-but-we-all-do-it moment where we nod in validation of the quality of our faeces? Checked! The disturbing-but-absolutely-necessary moment where we lick our fingers to dig out the last bits of chips at the end of the bag? Checked! Honesty is vanishingly rare, and therefore precious. We believe that they have no agenda beyond the self-evident one that is making a couple of bucks with their work.
As a result, we trust these comedians due to them being similarly foolish, flawed and biased human being they are to us.
I write to understand myself a little better. If my writing helps to allow you to understand yourself a little better; great. There will be times when I can offer some sort of advice. But please understand that there will be times when I will simply shrug my shoulders. Sometimes what we learn tends to come a little too late, and it gets contradicted by the next blunder. Sometimes what we learn is promptly forgotten and has to be learned all over again. Sometimes the most helpful things we can do for ourselves is to acknowledge the fact that we are clueless. Or I don’t know, maybe it is just me.
