I think your poll may also indicate the relative age of your audience. The written word is the one media that, left alone, will live on forever. I’ve had several experiences where audio and video files have magically become corrupted or haven’t been able to play them because their format is no longer supported. Let me tell you about the box of VHS tapes I have. I enjoy reading much more than listening or watching when I’m learning. Thank you, MW, for all your words. I’ve learned about a plethora of topics and have been able in turn to share my thoughts from time to time. If I were required to respond with a recording of some type I most likely would not respond.
Thank you Brother. Your point about age of audience is well taken, and something that I hadn't really considered.
You bring up my own nightmare of waste. VHS tapes, DVD's, computer disks. I've got a lot of that stuff too, largely useless now. Today I feel the same about formats for online documents. Sure, we can read .pdf's and .docx's today, but will we be able to easily read them in 20 years? I doubt it.
And I think that has implications for important Masonic records.
Ultimately, as you say, print on paper can last forever, and I think some things really do need to be preserved in that way.
A co-worker of mine "reads" audio books every day. He plays them at 1.5 speed to digest them quicker. He does this while commuting to and from work, which for him is about 90 minutes each way. He can read, but the audio books are much more convenient for him while traveling.
For myself, I don't read as much as I used to, as work, distractions, and outside life take away time for simply sitting and reading. When I do read something, it's usually a true story, biography, autobiography or history, usually about war. For novels, it's authors rather than genres. Ken Follett, Trevanian, Eric Lustbader, Robert Ludlum are some of my favorites.
I read fairly vast amounts of news, important for my work. A good deal of nonfiction, whatever catches my interest at the time. Novels too. I'm with you on Follett, certainly his work, particularly his more recent work really sticks with me. I just read Never for the second time. My other big favorites are Stephen King and Dean Koontz. But, for me, favorite authors have certainly changed over time.
MWB Bailey, I think the concerns over the destruction/erosion of written content is something we should pay more attention to. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and if we are unable to point to records or documentation it becomes that much easier to do so.
Sometimes convenience comes with risks. Unfortunately, a mostly digital society increases the risk of exploitation as much as it offers near limitless access to information. Unfortunately not all information is accurate, and is often intentionally misleading.
Hopefully we can work to increase our abilities to critically think and analyze information to match the challenges we face.
Does post-literate really mean a preference for audio? Wasn't Shakespeare meant to be seen and heard? I suggest that post-literate should indicate the amount of exposure to literature in any form. Or should we consider blind people incurably illiterate?
To me, post-literate means that too many people today don't "read" in any format, but choose not to learn and expand their knowledge.
And of course, using Braille is reading. I am saying so are audiobooks.
I suggest that writing (and reading) is a process, not a product. Can someone put together a research paper without typing it or scribbling it down? Can they expose themselves to literature without physical media? If pens and pencils ceased to exist, would written language end? The fact we can even consider these questions makes the premise of a post-literate world as defined an outdated notion, perhaps.
I think even these ponderings will seem quite strange in some future of far more amorphous language media.
And that's why Freemasonry offers something of importance -- performed ritual ties us to another time and reaches places the written word cannot, and it is not merely visual or auditory. It has a special place in the human psyche, even in some brave new world.
I'm afraid that my knowledge into Royal Arch Masonry is extremely limited. While I am a Royal Arch Mason, I've never been an active Chapter member. My own activity has been almost wholly focused on Craft Masonry, with a fair amount of the Scottish Rite on the side.
That said, MW Robert Davis is a truly superb Masonic educator. I find his books on Craft Masonry to be beyond compare, and he offers books on Capitular and Cryptic Masonry as well. I'd give his work my highest recommendation.
I might be strange in this day and age, but I prefer to read real books or magazines. And not the digital version. Although short essays, such as those found on Substack or news sites, are great in electronic format. Substack is a wonderful website to find interesting short essays on a variety of topics.
I also found it has started a desire in myself to put "pen to paper" and write occasionally.
I find that I'm quite similar. I've got a nice ebook reader that I never use, and an e-reading app on my phone that I almost never use. I much prefer real books.
But, for short essays, I find Substack hard to beat. This place is filled with great writers, and discoverability of new writers is very good. The only trouble is that there is more good stuff here to read than I can ever hope to read!
I cheat with Morals and Dogma more than anything else. The Supreme Council’s audiobook version works very well for me and I can retain very well when I push the auditory learning part of my brain. It also works well since I have TONS of windshield time these days.
I really like to read for enjoyment though. It’s something about the joy of slowing down.
MW, how can I DM you? Fraternally, Brother Riddick
In the 'Chat' feature (the link to this is at the very top of the homepage: https://emeth.substack.com/) you can send a direct message.
Or, if you received this post by email, you can just hit reply, it'll get to me.
Finally, you can just shoot me an email directly. bailey.cameron.m at Gmail.com
I think your poll may also indicate the relative age of your audience. The written word is the one media that, left alone, will live on forever. I’ve had several experiences where audio and video files have magically become corrupted or haven’t been able to play them because their format is no longer supported. Let me tell you about the box of VHS tapes I have. I enjoy reading much more than listening or watching when I’m learning. Thank you, MW, for all your words. I’ve learned about a plethora of topics and have been able in turn to share my thoughts from time to time. If I were required to respond with a recording of some type I most likely would not respond.
Thank you Brother. Your point about age of audience is well taken, and something that I hadn't really considered.
You bring up my own nightmare of waste. VHS tapes, DVD's, computer disks. I've got a lot of that stuff too, largely useless now. Today I feel the same about formats for online documents. Sure, we can read .pdf's and .docx's today, but will we be able to easily read them in 20 years? I doubt it.
And I think that has implications for important Masonic records.
Ultimately, as you say, print on paper can last forever, and I think some things really do need to be preserved in that way.
Wishing you? Lady Melinda and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving 🦃
Thank you Brother! Best wishes for a wonderful holiday for you and yours as well!
A co-worker of mine "reads" audio books every day. He plays them at 1.5 speed to digest them quicker. He does this while commuting to and from work, which for him is about 90 minutes each way. He can read, but the audio books are much more convenient for him while traveling.
For myself, I don't read as much as I used to, as work, distractions, and outside life take away time for simply sitting and reading. When I do read something, it's usually a true story, biography, autobiography or history, usually about war. For novels, it's authors rather than genres. Ken Follett, Trevanian, Eric Lustbader, Robert Ludlum are some of my favorites.
I read fairly vast amounts of news, important for my work. A good deal of nonfiction, whatever catches my interest at the time. Novels too. I'm with you on Follett, certainly his work, particularly his more recent work really sticks with me. I just read Never for the second time. My other big favorites are Stephen King and Dean Koontz. But, for me, favorite authors have certainly changed over time.
MWB Bailey, I think the concerns over the destruction/erosion of written content is something we should pay more attention to. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and if we are unable to point to records or documentation it becomes that much easier to do so.
Sometimes convenience comes with risks. Unfortunately, a mostly digital society increases the risk of exploitation as much as it offers near limitless access to information. Unfortunately not all information is accurate, and is often intentionally misleading.
Hopefully we can work to increase our abilities to critically think and analyze information to match the challenges we face.
Does post-literate really mean a preference for audio? Wasn't Shakespeare meant to be seen and heard? I suggest that post-literate should indicate the amount of exposure to literature in any form. Or should we consider blind people incurably illiterate?
To me, post-literate means that too many people today don't "read" in any format, but choose not to learn and expand their knowledge.
When writing this post I took a look at the definition provided by Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-literate_society
I would argue that those who are blind certainly can be literate. Braille allows the blind to read.
I am not sure that definition stands well today.
And of course, using Braille is reading. I am saying so are audiobooks.
I suggest that writing (and reading) is a process, not a product. Can someone put together a research paper without typing it or scribbling it down? Can they expose themselves to literature without physical media? If pens and pencils ceased to exist, would written language end? The fact we can even consider these questions makes the premise of a post-literate world as defined an outdated notion, perhaps.
I think even these ponderings will seem quite strange in some future of far more amorphous language media.
And that's why Freemasonry offers something of importance -- performed ritual ties us to another time and reaches places the written word cannot, and it is not merely visual or auditory. It has a special place in the human psyche, even in some brave new world.
MW, could recommend a good book for me to continue with my studies into Royal Arch masonry?
Brother:
I'm afraid that my knowledge into Royal Arch Masonry is extremely limited. While I am a Royal Arch Mason, I've never been an active Chapter member. My own activity has been almost wholly focused on Craft Masonry, with a fair amount of the Scottish Rite on the side.
That said, MW Robert Davis is a truly superb Masonic educator. I find his books on Craft Masonry to be beyond compare, and he offers books on Capitular and Cryptic Masonry as well. I'd give his work my highest recommendation.
https://robertgdavis.net/shop/york-rite/
I hope that this helps.
His stuff looks great. Thanks.
I love his Craft Masonry stuff, and I presume that his Royal Arch materials will be equally excellent.
Not to mention the fact that our MW Brother is a truly wonderful man and Mason.
I might be strange in this day and age, but I prefer to read real books or magazines. And not the digital version. Although short essays, such as those found on Substack or news sites, are great in electronic format. Substack is a wonderful website to find interesting short essays on a variety of topics.
I also found it has started a desire in myself to put "pen to paper" and write occasionally.
I find that I'm quite similar. I've got a nice ebook reader that I never use, and an e-reading app on my phone that I almost never use. I much prefer real books.
But, for short essays, I find Substack hard to beat. This place is filled with great writers, and discoverability of new writers is very good. The only trouble is that there is more good stuff here to read than I can ever hope to read!
That’s an absurdly great metric!
I cheat with Morals and Dogma more than anything else. The Supreme Council’s audiobook version works very well for me and I can retain very well when I push the auditory learning part of my brain. It also works well since I have TONS of windshield time these days.
I really like to read for enjoyment though. It’s something about the joy of slowing down.