MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Books that changed something in your life

RWJ · 10-29-2008, 01:03 AM

Interesting thread.

For me, the first thing that comes to mind is anything by Neil Postman, but especially Amusing Ourselves to Death. I was 15 when I read it, staying at my grandparents' house, and picked it up because I was having trouble sleeping and it was a book on my bedside table from the last visitor. At that age I'd never gotten around to thinking that in the social sciences there are few hard "truths", that the way in which an issue is framed influences the way it is interpreted, and indeed that the way in which we approach an issue can determine the conclusions we reach about it.

I'm not sure I'd agree with Postman's politics 100%, but I credit his books with getting me interested in thinking about thinking, which I guess was the trigger for my convoluted academic wanderings.

10-29-2008, 01:03 AM	#65
RWJ Zealot Posts: 120 Karma: 170 Join Date: Jul 2008 Device: PRS-505	Interesting thread. For me, the first thing that comes to mind is anything by Neil Postman, but especially Amusing Ourselves to Death. I was 15 when I read it, staying at my grandparents' house, and picked it up because I was having trouble sleeping and it was a book on my bedside table from the last visitor. At that age I'd never gotten around to thinking that in the social sciences there are few hard "truths", that the way in which an issue is framed influences the way it is interpreted, and indeed that the way in which we approach an issue can determine the conclusions we reach about it. I'm not sure I'd agree with Postman's politics 100%, but I credit his books with getting me interested in thinking about thinking, which I guess was the trigger for my convoluted academic wanderings.