The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows
Where, oh where, are the 'literary men' ?
I usually give these kinds of think/opinion-pieces -- that get tons of snarky comments and responses anyway -- a wide berth, but the (yes, already much commented-on) The New York Times' piece by David J. Morris, The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone (presumably paywalled) is too *good* to pass up a mention.
Morris notes that fiction -- production and consumption -- is becoming a one-sided affair -- including that: "According to multiple reports, women readers now account for about 80 percent of fiction sales". This worries him, as:
In recent decades, young men have regressed educationally, emotionally and culturally. Among women matriculating at four-year public colleges, about half will graduate four years later; for men the rate is under 40 percent. This disparity surely translates to a drop-off in the number of novels young men read, as they descend deeper into video games and pornography. Young men who still exhibit curiosity about the world too often seek intellectual stimulation through figures of the “manosphere” such as Andrew Tate and Joe Rogan.Granted, I am no longer a 'young man' -- hell, at twenty-five even this site is long in the tooth ... -- but of course I feel (and not just envy ...) for those young men descending deeper and deeper into video games and pornography .....
Coïncidentally, a couple of weeks ago I had considered commenting on a Nick Hornby 'Stuff I've Been Reading'-column that was recently re-printed at the Literary Hub, wherein he writes from the perspective of having now (then, in 2018) passed sixty, finding that: "there is indeed, as you might have suspected, a pill that men are forced to swallow on the last day they are fifty-nine that makes them less interested in new fiction" -- so apparently there's an old-man problem too, with Hornby claiming to put in the effort but not finding the reward:
I try to find works of fiction, I promise, but it’s like pushing a wonky shopping trolley round a supermarket. I constantly veer off toward literary biographies, books about the Replacements, and so on, and only with a concerted effort can I push it toward the best our novelists have to offer. I suspect it’s to do with age and risk.So anyway you look at it, there's apparently a male-fiction problem. (It should be noted that Hornby's complaints about fiction aren't new here -- he mentioned his difficulties sustaining or finding interest in numerous columns, long before he reached sixty. I remain baffled by this, as to me fiction has always and continues to seem to be so obviously superior and preferable to non.)
Meanwhile -- going back to the younger generation ... -- Morris thinks:
These young men need better stories — and they need to see themselves as belonging to the world of storytelling. Novels do many things. They entertain, inspire, puzzle, hypnotize. But reading fiction is also an excellent way to improve one’s emotional I.Q. Novels help us form our identities and understand our lives.Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear .....
'Better stories' ? 'Belonging to the world of storytelling' ? Emotional I.Q.-booster ! Etc. etc.
(For what it's worth: I have my doubts about my literary bent having boosted my 'emotional I.Q.', and lord help us (or at least me) if my novel-reading has helped shape my identity .....)
It is, of course, interesting that so many fewer men purchase and read fiction than women do -- as is the general falling-back of the demographic in terms of educational and other achievement; back-to-the-books (especially if they're novels) sounds good to me, but I don't see that getting much traction (not least against the competition from video games and pornography); I suspect the issue is a more complex one and won't be *solved* by a few good stories.
AI has taken over Google Search and Image results
Android Trends: “A recent study shows that AIhas taken over a big part of Google’s search results. AI-generated summaries now appear in almost half of all searches, taking up a lot of space on both desktop and mobile screens. This is changing the way people experience Google search. Also, Google Image Search now shows AI-created images that look very real, mixed with actual photos. This is making it harder to tell the difference between real and fake content. This change shows how much Google is using AI now, which raises concerns about how authentic the search results and images really are.”
