Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonist
And of course, just as you claim that literature does not play a role in building one's intellect (this presumably includes all those non-intellectual lit profs), others assert that social sciences are there, just so that the lazier and the not-so-bright can get in a few better grades....
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I don't think that this (i.e. that literature does not play a role) is what was being claimed. The claim that started the thread, which a number of people, including me, are contesting, was that reading "bad" books was harmful - in the way that eating "bad" food is harmful.
It seems to me that a varied intake across a wide range is likely to create a more well-rounded intellect than a rigid diet of only "good" books (whatever that means).
There is a counter claim that might be made, which is that reading is not required to develop a well-rounded intellect. I'm not so sure about that one - perhaps there might be rare counter-examples, but I'd suspect that reading
is normally required.