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Worldwalker · 07-28-2010, 03:32 AM

A crutch? It's the whole point of reading for pleasure! You want to experience the story, not just read a report on it. I suppose visualization/immersion doesn't matter to someone whose only goal is to find out what all the words say so they can answer questions about them for next week's test, and that's valid so far as it goes, but how could one enjoy reading when just treating it as an exercise in data gathering?

As for the people who say there are no poor readers:

Is everyone an equally good cook? If so, why hasn't Gordon Ramsay called me to be head chef in his latest restaurant?
Is everyone an equally good baseball player? If so, where's the Red Sox uniform with my name on the back?
Is everyone an equally good driver? If so, why did my month of May include watching other people driving in the Indy 500?
Is everyone an equally good writer? If so, why didn't I sell the first story I ever submitted, the way Robert Heinlein did with Lifeline?
Is everyone an equally good photographer? If so, why are Ansel Adams' pictures worth millions and mine not worth the paper they're printed on?

I can go on forever. There are millions of things human beings can do, and for each and every one of them, some of us are good at them and some of us are bad at them. That's why we have winners and runners-up and also-rans. It's why we have grades. It's we have performance reviews, promotions, and firings for incompetence. It's why we have book, music, and movie reviews with anything other than five stars. Look at your own life and fill in the blanks: "I'm a good ________; I'm a poor ________."

I'm a poor cook. It's a fact of life. I could get better at it if I practiced, but I haven't practiced and I'm not very good. I can successfully open a can, or microwave a frozen dinner, which gets me by. Do those people who say "there are no poor readers" also think there are no poor cooks? If so, could you please speak to Gordon Ramsay about my inexplicably missing job offer, and also have a word with the people who respond to threats of my cooking with "hey, I've got a Domino's coupon; my treat!"

Of course there are poor readers. Reading is a skill like any other. Some people are good at it, some people are so-so at it, some people are utterly terrible at it, and both interest and practice (and possibly some innate talent) are necessary to go from bad to mediocre to good, just like with cooking, making movies, or playing baseball. Believing otherwise moves beyond being politically correct and well into the realm of delusional.

07-28-2010, 03:32 AM	#40
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	A crutch? It's the whole point of reading for pleasure! You want to experience the story, not just read a report on it. I suppose visualization/immersion doesn't matter to someone whose only goal is to find out what all the words say so they can answer questions about them for next week's test, and that's valid so far as it goes, but how could one enjoy reading when just treating it as an exercise in data gathering? As for the people who say there are no poor readers: Is everyone an equally good cook? If so, why hasn't Gordon Ramsay called me to be head chef in his latest restaurant? Is everyone an equally good baseball player? If so, where's the Red Sox uniform with my name on the back? Is everyone an equally good driver? If so, why did my month of May include watching other people driving in the Indy 500? Is everyone an equally good writer? If so, why didn't I sell the first story I ever submitted, the way Robert Heinlein did with Lifeline? Is everyone an equally good photographer? If so, why are Ansel Adams' pictures worth millions and mine not worth the paper they're printed on? I can go on forever. There are millions of things human beings can do, and for each and every one of them, some of us are good at them and some of us are bad at them. That's why we have winners and runners-up and also-rans. It's why we have grades. It's we have performance reviews, promotions, and firings for incompetence. It's why we have book, music, and movie reviews with anything other than five stars. Look at your own life and fill in the blanks: "I'm a good ________; I'm a poor ________." I'm a poor cook. It's a fact of life. I could get better at it if I practiced, but I haven't practiced and I'm not very good. I can successfully open a can, or microwave a frozen dinner, which gets me by. Do those people who say "there are no poor readers" also think there are no poor cooks? If so, could you please speak to Gordon Ramsay about my inexplicably missing job offer, and also have a word with the people who respond to threats of my cooking with "hey, I've got a Domino's coupon; my treat!" Of course there are poor readers. Reading is a skill like any other. Some people are good at it, some people are so-so at it, some people are utterly terrible at it, and both interest and practice (and possibly some innate talent) are necessary to go from bad to mediocre to good, just like with cooking, making movies, or playing baseball. Believing otherwise moves beyond being politically correct and well into the realm of delusional. Last edited by Worldwalker; 07-28-2010 at 03:34 AM.