I mentioned the other day about my test of whether a person has read a book. That's the test where I read a phrase from a randomly chosen page and the person who says he has read the book is supposed to tell me the next word on the page. It's a dumb test and by most definitions of reading, it is worthless. But the idea can help show how many different angles we can view ourselves from.
I was justly accused the other day of being "the guy who only reads the first 20 pages" of a book. I do sometimes read all the pages but I don't manage to do it all in one sitting. I can be sitting reading when the phone rings or the clock shows it's tea time. The act of reading a book is familiar to us but it is quite complex, more so today. The book might be on paper, it might be a library book, it might be an ebook. The book "Reader, Come Home" is one that looks at the complexity of the reading act and the current use of digital devices to offer reading opportunities, including intrusive chances to read an ad you didn't ask for and irritates by intruding itself into the story.
I focus on reading because it is a complex act and it is related to learning and to pleasure. But every day, we engage in equally complex acts that are also shaped by our
chronological age,
habits and beliefs,
health, and
purposes and projects.
That list implies we are four-dimensional creatures. But, I didn't list our political preferences and convictions and I didn't list religious influences and backgrounds. I didn't list what Mom convinced us of or what Dad always advised. No wonder we are somewhat unpredictable.
