Are readers more educated than non-readers?

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

A reader who keeps his/her reader in a cover is smarter then a reader who does not keep his/her reader in a cover.

Hey, different people have different tastes!

Originally Posted by user_none

Very true. If you're 19 you probably won't have completed anything above High School.[...]

So right! I was about to complain "What about university students? I'm pretty sure I won't be kicked out... Can I come back in 3 years to vote for the Bachelor's degree option?"

[patrickt]

I have a friend, a truck driver. He loves poetry. I asked how, a boy raised in Spotted Hog, Missouri, developed such a passion for poetry. It was his 6th grade teacher. He remembered her name but I don't. She loved my friend and passed on her love of poetry to him.

President Harry Truman was our last president to not have a college degree. Uneducated? I don't think so. He was reportedly a voracious reader and often read classics in the original Latin. Now, we have a well-degreed president who has trouble reading in English.

Educated people read, whether they have degrees or not. Reading good books is an essential characteristic of an educated person.

[gwhite]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Educated people read, whether they have degrees or not. Reading good books is an essential characteristic of an educated person.

At my first Psychology lecture at University, the Professor asked the students to raise their hand if they opted for this subject in order to understand people better. Almost all raised their hand and he went on to say that Psychology was useless for this purpose and they should instead read some good novelists. Exactly right, as reading good books grants one an insight into the experience of others. This in turn expands ones imagination and increases emotional intelligence by enhancing the ability to emphasise with those who have had a different life experience.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by gwhite

At my first Psychology lecture at University, the Professor asked the students to raise their hand if they opted for this subject in order to understand people better. Almost all raised their hand and he went on to say that Psychology was useless for this purpose and they should instead read some good novelists. Exactly right, as reading good books grants one an insight into the experience of others. This in turn expands ones imagination and increases emotional intelligence by enhancing the ability to emphasise with those who have had a different life experience.

Did he go on to explain the the value of psychology?

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by patrickt

President Harry Truman was our last president to not have a college degree. Uneducated? I don't think so. He was reportedly a voracious reader and often read classics in the original Latin.

High schools used to be a lot more challenging. In 1900, the only admission criterion for the large state school I attended was the ability to read classical Greek well.

Now, we have a well-degreed president who has trouble reading in English.

No, he doesn't. He once stumbled reading a teleprompter. Can we keep political cr*p out of this discussion please?

[Prestidigitweeze]

No, he doesn't. He once stumbled reading a teleprompter. Can we keep political cr*p out of this discussion please?

I agree. Ridicule him for any failing you like in a political forum, but not for lack of eloquence or comprehension on a thread about literacy here. To malign someone's strengths is to become unreliable on the subject of their faults.

[gwhite]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

Did he go on to explain the the value of psychology?

As I remember (it was a long time ago) the value was in knowing a great deal about rats.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by gwhite

As I remember (it was a long time ago) the value was in knowing a great deal about rats.

I've got four psychologists in my family, and I'd say there's an initial interest in self-diagnosis which is rapidly discouraged by teachers.

Fascination with deciphering the intricacies of specific problems and pathologies seems to be the reason my rels persevered in that field. They also feel good about helping patients who are haunted by intangible difficulties.

One family member in particular is outraged by the politicization of mental illness, and takes the same view of it that others do of the medieval diagnoses of pathologies as forms of demonic possession.

Determining and advocating the correct treatment of harmless patients, and of those who are truly dangerous, seems to have been his main motivation for earning his Doctorate.

[teadonkey]

Even though the last few posts are a bit off topic... I wanted to respond to the original idea.

1. Polling MR members isn't polling the average reader. It's polling the average forum going reader who is interested in eReaders.

2. I seriously don't think education level has anything to do with a love for reading. (Minus, yknow, getting to the point where you learn how to read.) I have an associate in arts degree and I'm currently in a technical program for nursing, and I can't get enough reading. I've /always/ been this way, since I was a small child. My grandfather loves reading and he has a Masters in English. My other grandfather also loved reading, most especially nonfiction, and the only reason he had a Bachelor's was because of the GI bill. My dad also loves reading, he has no degree at all. My boyfriend loves reading, he is in an EMT technical program.

I think my point is people who love to read are just that - people who love to read. They aren't educated or non-educated, they aren't from a specific socio-economic class. They just enjoy reading. It's like people who like to take walks, or people who like to play tennis. It's just something they like to do.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by teadonkey

I think my point is people who love to read are just that - people who love to read. They aren't educated or non-educated, they aren't from a specific socio-economic class. They just enjoy reading. It's like people who like to take walks, or people who like to play tennis. It's just something they like to do.

I think that everyone who loves to read loves to read for much the same reason. But what the OP is interested in (and what this poll can't answer, unfortunately) is the statistical distribution of people who love to read across educational levels.

Although, thinking about it, I think it would also be interesting to see the distribution of readers in various occupations, too.

[Harmon]

My experience is that love of reading has very little to do with educational level.

Same with baseball...

[rdfry]

What about people who are trade school graduates, apprentices ? These are educated people too.

[Joybells]

I'd say that readers were more educated than non-readers, but not necessarily more qualified.

[OtterBooks]

Almost all of my reader friends are without college degrees, and almost all my degreed friends are non-readers. Odd.

I have also noticed that amongst my friends and family, the more money they make, the less they read. Spin that any way you please.

[Prestidigitweeze]

The question I'd ask, OtterBooks, is whether reading is a form of escape that your successful friends don't need or a distraction they prefer not to allow.