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Is reading really better for you than tv?

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    #62
    xckjoo
    Registered Users Posts: 3,346 ✭✭✭xckjoo


    Reading develops the attention span in a way TV doesn't. Something sorely missing in the modern world


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    #63
    touts
    Registered Users Posts: 6,437 ✭✭✭touts


    Earthhorse wrote: »
    What’s a step warrior?

    The Dokrati in Game of Thrones were based on the Mongols from the Steps of Central Asia. The tribes from that region are often referred to as Step Horsemen or Step Warriors etc. Its a term that has come to describe a very different form of warfare than was practiced in Europe at the time.


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    #64
    CrankyHaus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,281 ✭✭✭CrankyHaus


    Is that not steppe instead of step?


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    #65
    nkl12xtw5goz70
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,497 ✭✭✭nkl12xtw5goz70


    xckjoo wrote: »
    Reading develops the attention span in a way TV doesn't. Something sorely missing in the modern world

    Children now get their first smartphones at an average age of 10. Books now have to compete for children's attention with phones, tablets, gaming consoles, YouTube, Netflix, and any number of other shiny distractions. Teenagers are known to spend 6 to 8 hours a day on their digital devices, where they rarely read anything longer than texts, status updates, Instagram captions, and tweets. And even when they are doing homework or assigned reading, many are checking their phone every few minutes, so a book never has their full attention.

    It's no surprise then that many young people never develop the capacity to read lengthy books and articles that require focus, critical thinking, and reflection. It's a huge loss, but that is the way society has gone.


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    #66
    0lddog
    Registered Users Posts: 3,292 ✭✭✭0lddog


    Axel Rough Canoe wrote: »
    .......It's no surprise then that many young people never develop the capacity to read lengthy books and articles that require focus, critical thinking, and reflection. It's a huge loss, but that is the way society has gone.


    ""They are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours." –Margaret Thatcher 1987



    Who to believe ?

    Maggie or Permabear ?


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    #67
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    odyssey06 wrote: »
    If I had to choose one, I would choose reading. I think especially for non-fiction \ factual, you can read information a lot more quickly than it can be presented to you in a documentary.
    Also, for fictional works, books are much better at representing internal monologues than film.
    Especially in pre-CGI era, for something like Lord of the Rings, your imagination was a much more effective 'world builder' than anything that could be put on screen.

    Against that, with appropriate use of graphics, some documentaries eg The Planets, Cosmos can explain certain concepts much better than a book.
    And in fictional works, films are usually much better at presenting actions and both displays of emotion - and their concealment.

    Luckily we don't have to choose only one... so enjoy all mediums!

    Gotta disagree with this specific example. I read Lord of the Rings in my early teens. The films were vastly superior imo. I thought the books dragged quite a lot tbh.


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    #68
    odyssey06
    Registered Users Posts: 28,106 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Gotta disagree with this specific example. I read Lord of the Rings in my early teens. The films were vastly superior imo. I thought the books dragged quite a lot tbh.

    Sorry maybe I wasn't clear, pre-CGI era I meant before the technology that made films like LOTR viable. You either need CGI or an imaginative reader. Ditto for Game of Thrones.
    John Boorman looked at filming LOTR in the 1970s but had to settle for much smaller scale Excalibur, because the film technology couldn't deliver the concepts to screen.

    ps I'll grant you that Book 4 or second part of Two Towers is a bit of a slog, for readers and protagonists alike :)

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



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    #69
    Colonel Claptrap
    Registered Users Posts: 945 ✭✭✭Colonel Claptrap


    I read 2 GOT books, then watched 2 series of the show. Now I'm gobbling my way through the rest of the books.

    Part of me regretted watching the series as it seemed to blast through huge sections of the book in a few minutes of airtime. I wanted it to slow down.

    On the other hand it was amazing to put a face to a character. Casting Tywin Lannister was perfect. It made reading the books so much more vivid when I knew what he looked like. His unsmiling face. The same with Briene of Tarth. Not so much littlefinger.

    I was very excited reading when Cat of the canals entered Braavos for the first time. I couldn't wait to see how the TV show depicted the city. I look forward to watching it.

    I highly recommend mixing both forms of media to truly experience the world of Westeros. Magic.


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    #70
    mariaalice
    Registered Users Posts: 12,378 ✭✭✭✭mariaalice


    0lddog wrote: »
    ""They are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours." –Margaret Thatcher 1987



    Who to believe ?

    Maggie or Permabear ?

    Reading philosophy and history would help someone decide.


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    #71
    Sardonicat
    Registered Users Posts: 12,378 ✭✭✭✭Sardonicat


    mariaalice wrote: »
    Reading philosophy and history would help someone decide.

    Well, Maggie was a big fan of Rand, as is clear from that quote.


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    #72
    mariaalice
    Registered Users Posts: 12,378 ✭✭✭✭mariaalice


    Sardonicat wrote: »
    Well, Maggie was a big fan of Rand, as is clear from that quote.

    That is my exact point reading encourages someone to interrogate what they are being told or sold and come to an informed decision.


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    #73
    odyssey06
    Registered Users Posts: 28,106 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    Colonel Claptrap wrote: »
    I read 2 GOT books, then watched 2 series of the show. Now I'm gobbling my way through the rest of the books.
    Part of me regretted watching the series as it seemed to blast through huge sections of the book in a few minutes of airtime. I wanted it to slow down.
    On the other hand it was amazing to put a face to a character. Casting Tywin Lannister was perfect. It made reading the books so much more vivid when I knew what he looked like. His unsmiling face. The same with Briene of Tarth. Not so much littlefinger.

    I had similar experience, though made the jump earlier (season 1 midpoint) so it worked out better for me. There were so many characters I think seeing some of the TV episodes as an introduction made it easier to follow the books.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



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    #74
    Ipso
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,995 ✭✭✭Ipso


    odyssey06 wrote: »
    Graces7 wrote: »
    Someone mentioned Game of Thrones! I keep seeing bits in ads on youtube and it is sheer nasty junk!

    I don't think there's anything nastier in Game of Thrones than what happened in the ancient world through to the middle ages...

    A few months back I read "By Sword and Fire : Cruelty and Atrocity in Medieval Warfare" by Sean McGlynn and it's a toss up which had more atrocities...

    There is also redemption, love, honour, hope and heroes to match the villains, the atrocities, and the eh, nasty junk.

    Yeah, it’s hilarious the way people gush over the English Royal Family for example. Now there’s a case is peeling back the nice facade and seeing some ugly sh1t in its past.


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    #75
    ohnonotgmail
    Registered Users Posts: 40,179 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    touts wrote: »
    The Dokrati in Game of Thrones were based on the Mongols from the Steps of Central Asia. The tribes from that region are often referred to as Step Horsemen or Step Warriors etc. Its a term that has come to describe a very different form of warfare than was practiced in Europe at the time.

    they dont look that scary at all

    H_steps-389442.jpg


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    #76
    odyssey06
    Registered Users Posts: 28,106 ✭✭✭✭odyssey06


    ohnonotgmail wrote: »
    they dont that scary at all...

    Wait until he starts 'singing' ... and blood starts dripping from your ears.

    "To follow knowledge like a sinking star..." (Tennyson's Ulysses)



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    #77
    ohnonotgmail
    Registered Users Posts: 40,179 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    odyssey06 wrote: »
    Wait until he starts 'singing' ... and blood starts dripping from your ears.

    you make a good point. a tragedy indeed.


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    #78
    Greyfox
    Registered Users Posts: 3,726 ✭✭✭Greyfox


    Axel Rough Canoe wrote: »
    Children now get their first smartphones at an average age of 10. Books now have to compete for children's attention with phones, tablets, gaming consoles, YouTube, Netflix, and any number of other shiny distractions. Teenagers are known to spend 6 to 8 hours a day on their digital devices, where they rarely read anything longer than texts, status updates, Instagram captions, and tweets. And even when they are doing homework or assigned reading, many are checking their phone every few minutes, so a book never has their full attention.

    It's no surprise then that many young people never develop the capacity to read lengthy books and articles that require focus, critical thinking, and reflection. It's a huge loss, but that is the way society has gone.

    With no many great films, TV shows and games out there and a mobile phone always in my hand it can be very hard for adults to make time for reading.. need to spend more time reading though


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    #79
    paleoperson
    Registered Users Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭paleoperson


    Colonel Claptrap wrote: »
    On the other hand it was amazing to put a face to a character. Casting Tywin Lannister was perfect. It made reading the books so much more vivid when I knew what he looked like. His unsmiling face. The same with Briene of Tarth. Not so much littlefinger.

    Agree. One thing I find though is that many of the the actresses on screen don't end up like the sex goddesses of my imagination.


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    #80
    arybvtcw0eolkf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 24,878 ✭✭✭✭arybvtcw0eolkf


    mariaalice wrote: »
    Love reading but a kindle does nothing for me, dose eating the chicken wings and reading the kindle at the same time not make the kindle messy.

    No.


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    #81
    Ipso
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,995 ✭✭✭Ipso


    Israel Whispering Cemetery wrote: »
    No.

    Well you're eating them wrong.


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    #82
    Force Carrier
    Closed Accounts Posts: 594 ✭✭✭Force Carrier


    71-ZNUKl-Bb-NL-SX466.jpg


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    #83
    touts
    Registered Users Posts: 6,437 ✭✭✭touts


    CrankyHaus wrote: »
    Is that not steppe instead of step?

    It is indeed. Decking auto correct and fast posting.


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    #84
    AulWan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,653 ✭✭✭AulWan


    Speaking for myself only, books beat tv/film hands down.

    I've yet to see a screen adaptation of a book that I truly believed was better then the book.

    With tv/film, you are getting the Directors interpretation of characters, events. When you read a book, you build your own.

    On more than one occasion I've read a book after seeing a movie, and find myself completely disagreeing with the Director's "vision".

    I will compromise for audiobooks. I do like those when I'm driving.


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