On “fad books”

I’ve had a couple of conversations over the past few weeks on what I have ended up calling “fad books”. You know what I’m talking about, mostly the self-help variety, semi-spiritual stuff or popular philosophy, popular science, even popular history. It’s this “popular” part which bothers me the most, I guess; the style of these books is so dumbed down, I feel like a child just reading it.

Now, am I being my usual snooty self? I never was much of a reader myself, so how can I judge? In fact, I don’t think I am much of a reader now. It’s just that two years at St. John’s has affected how I react to such things.

But there’s more to it. I sometimes get the impression that everything which has had to be said or done has already been said or done. I know that can’t be entirely true, but I often come across some spark of wisdom which some new age “guru” has contrived, only to laugh it off and wonder why said “guru” has never picked up Plato or Aristotle, or even the Bible.

I guess that’s why people study philosophy, to be exposed to ideas and how some minds – not to say “great minds” – have handled them. So does that mean that people should just stop writing books or making movies or drawing or sculpting…?

I want to say, “of course not!”, but I’m not sure why. Every generation needs to learn yet again what previous generations have been through (I guess that’s why we study history), but perhaps every generation needs to express it in a different way, hopefully in a more refined manner, though that is not always the case. If there has been social, moral, political or philosophical innovation in the past, there certainly has been a great deal of regression as well.

So, what to do about these “fad books”? I don’t like them, and in fact, I really think most of the especially spiritually-oriented “gurus” are charlatans, only out to make money. But does that mean that they do not cater to a specific crowd? I would like to think that Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, etc. caters better to any crowd, but maybe there is a question of taste, and time as a luxury too.

What is more, I cannot claim for my own part to have understood much from the great books at St. John’s so far; that would be overly presumptuous. However, the fact that I read a “fad book” and know what the author is saying even before he says it turns me off. The mystery of not being able to fully comprehend is somehow more enticing and ironically more satisfying.

Pensées sur taxonomie…

A project which was taken up this past winter break was sifting through my grandfather’s library. He passed away in 1995, the Lord rest his soul. A learned man, very much beloved and respected by his family, friends and colleagues, both in his pedagogical profession and also in his Armenian activities.

He had amassed quite a collection over the years, and my job was to sort it all out. I spent very many very pleasant hours not just going through interesting tomes, but also gleaning aspects of the life of this close relative of mine, with whom I did not quite get the opportunity to forge a mature relationship.

The additional sentiment that I want to share, which is the main reason I am writing this, really, is how I began to categorise the books, which immediately reminded me of that first bit of freshman lab at St. John’s. Who says a Johnnie education does not have practical value? I asked myself, “What is the telos of this taxonomy? What is the purpose of this item?”, and, suddenly, it became clear which volume belonged in which pile. :-)

Fast forward about a week. I came across a fascinating, fascinating toy this evening. A little spherical object, with a single-line screen and just a few buttons. “Q20”, it is called, or something to that effect, as it’s simply a twenty questions game. It starts by asking “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Other or Unknown?”, and after that, one chooses answers “Yes”, “No”, “Sometimes” and “Unknown” to… well, simple questions, really, such as “Is it bigger than a sofa?” or “Do people use it everyday?” or “Does it come in many colours?”.

Believe it or not, the little machine figured it out every single time (barring the particularly obscure, “unfair” ones we had in mind, to which it would often be hard to answer the given question). Anything from “horse” to “cow”, to “komodo dragon”, “pen”, “coal”, “gold”, “ghost”… It was really remarkable. Uncanny.

And it got me thinking, naturally, as to how the machine works. Let’s say it has a database of every conceivable object. Somehow, it narrows them all down, at least initially, to three more or less concrete and two perhaps vague categories, and then, question by question, the specific object is “defined”. Fascinating, stuff, of course, just to think about it.

Now, surely EVERYTHING can’t be described in this way…? On the other hand, there are presumably a finite number of “things” in the universe, so they can all fit in somewhere, even if a part of it ends up under “Unknown” (I know my grandfather’s books had a “Miscellaneous” pile).

The implication of a machine – that too, a little dinky thing – being able to carry out such an operation is at the same time startling and frightening. What would I answer to the telos of the little Q20’s categorisation? “To determine what’s on the player’s mind”…? Okay, but it still includes just about every conceivable thing. So, when I do my taxonomy practicum freshman lab, what is my telos then? “To determine what’s on MY mind”…? What do scientists think about when they categorise and sub-categorise? I suppose it makes science, the organisation of knowledge, easier…

One must not forget, too, that it was a human mind, after all, which programmed that little machine, and entertainment, to say nothing of some income and profit, was probably a telos very much under consideration.

Okay, this has already turned into a ranting, rambling note. Let me end it before this gets consigned to the “incoherent” pile. :-)

Are we strong or weak?

Ogygia or Ithaca?

Ogygia or Ithaca?
This is the dilemma.
If I stay, I do not die,
I go forth and multiply
With Calypso on an isle
Which is so pretty. For a while
this seemed like a great deal.
But wait! What’s this I feel?
I have a lady, a kid too,
They await me. What to do?
Penelope and Telemachus
Will probably make a huge ruckus
If I don’t go, and all may be lost.
This is what staying will cost.
So, off I depart, for I am ill-at-ease,
I must lie to Laertes,
To the swineherd, my wife, too.
The kid I’ll tell. We’ll cry. Boo-hoo.
But in the end, all will be fine,
The suitors killed, my house mine
After twenty years astray led.
The only downside? The dog’s dead.

On what’s going on in Armenia…

I have to let off some thoughts and feelings on the latest goings-on in the Homeland.