I was speaking with a person the other day and encouraged them to start reading. Yes, we all read a huge amount of Twitter, Facebook, news feeds and even blogs but what I suggested they do is pick up a book.
We spend so much time “catching-up” that many of us forget that reading is more than just about getting the next sound bite. When you read a good book, fiction or non-fiction, you are entering the mind of another person and getting their thoughts on characters, plot or their views on a particular topic. This meeting of minds can have an impact of you by expanding your own horizons or challenging your own perceptions.
At their core, books are a structured set of considered thoughts that have often taken the author a significant chunk of their life to construct. This considered opinion is very different from a Facebook post which is more often than not, just an opinion or at worst an uninformed opinion.
For example, let’s imagine you see a Facebook post on climate change and immediately “like it”. You have effectively shared your opinion on the topic to untold numbers of people around the world, but do you actually understand the issues around climate change?
When I was in high school my English teacher drummed into me the art of critical thinking. Don’t take on face value what is being said, dig into the facts and seek to understand all sides of an issue prior to making up your own mind. Then, once you’ve formed an opinion, hold it lightly as it may be wrong.
I believe the desire to come to grips with real issues has been in steady decline as the world has become highly defensive in their haste to take offence. From experience, too many people react rather than really think. This may seem quite judgmental but ask yourself, when was the last time you argued against your typical position on a real issue to force yourself to view the other side of an argument?