Is reading too much a depravation of the mind?

[Kookamoor]

And I am interested in math and CS, but then again now when I should be preparing for college, I am reading books that are irrelevant to what I am going to study. And it is this wilful ignorance that I am trying to impose on myself, because I know that if I become interested in something else, I will not be able to focus on my major.

I think I've written more than enough today (my $0.02 is about $20 by now). But I just wanted to know - why do you have to 'prepare for college'? Man, when I rocked up for my first day the only preparation I'd done is learnt where my first class was located and chosen a couple of subjects!

I think I'd also learnt where the nearby bars were located in O-week...

 

[ecks]

I don't know. I don't want to expose too much of myself to people that I've never met, but I guess I need to explain myself after saying these harsh statements. I know myself, and as I said earlier, once I get fascinated with something, I forget everything else. Therefore, I am not a multi-tasking kind of person. If I get hung up on one thing, I cannot be interested in another. So, I can't really see myself as pursuing a double major. But it doesn't matter, whatever happens happens. And please, don't respond to this if you've got something better to do. I was only thinking out loud.

please don't be offended by this, but if you truly believe what you are saying you must be very dull to talk to.

There is no need to apologize. I would rather people told me what they thought of me, rather than being fakely nice to me. I may be dull, but only when people talk about something I don't care about.

 

[jenn]

look i don't know you or your situation or what you want in life. in the past 13 years, i finished 2 years of a b.a., travelled and worked in japan, got married, ran a bed and breakfast, a catering company, waitressed, worked in a bookstore, moved 6 times, bought 2 houses, started a play group for moms and tots, became a board member of a non-profit family resource center, had 2 children, and now am chair of a fundraising committee. my husband among other things just started his own computer consulting firm, and he started out in biology at university.
you can analyze and stress and sweat over every decision that comes your way or you can embrace each new opportunity. you can't compare yourself to your sister, or what your parents hope for you. in the end it is your life. all i know is nothing is static and those you try desperately to prevent change and stay on the path, tend to be unhappy.
when i lived in japan, kids have to pick their extracurricular acitivity in grade 6, i think, maybe 7. that is it. they will play basketball or soccer or whatever until grade 12. they focus on studies so intently that their results from jr high determine the high school they will go to. it's very stressful. imagine making a choice and then that is it. they are discovering that these kids are actually experiancing a syndrome that is making them sick and possibly violent. change is good, variety is good.
so pick something and if it doesn't work out, it's ok. something new is always around the corner, if you are open to it.

 

[StillILearn]

"I know not how to abstain from reading."

Samuel Pepys

(the italics are mine...)

 

[Motokid]

ecks, if you're trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up good luck. Some people, like me, are still trying to answer that question into there 40's and 50's.

Pick something that interests you today. Head that direction, but know that the direction you head can, and probably will change many times throughout the rest of your life.

 

[Kookamoor]

I know myself, and as I said earlier, once I get fascinated with something, I forget everything else. Therefore, I am not a multi-tasking kind of person. If I get hung up on one thing, I cannot be interested in another. So, I can't really see myself as pursuing a double major.

Well, obviously that's not the case if you're jumping between topics as diverse as philosophy and computer programming! But remember that you can always change your mind once you get to college. So despite the fact that you can't see this in your future, you never know what might happen.

I know many people like this, ecks, you're far from alone. Just remember that college/university is a place to define yourself, and get out of the box you were perhaps pidgeon-holed into in high school. The greatest thing about tertiary institutions is that there is always somewhere that you will fit in, because everyone is so diverse.

And please, don't respond to this if you've got something better to do.

Heh, I do, but this is excellent procrastination!

 

[Zolipara]

What do you guys think is better, reading or thinking for yourself and coming with your own conclusions about life? In my opinion, reading too much forces you to absorb other people's opinions about life, and kind of makes you the author's mouthpiece.

Part of growing up is learning to read critically. Seeing something through the eyes of another can be very valuable. There is no reason why this should stop you from forming your own conclusions.

Well, but in order to get anywhere, we have to drive forward with some idea, not caring whether it is right or wrong.

The world would be a better place if people would stop doing this.

 

[jenn]

Well, but in order to get anywhere, we have to drive forward with some idea, not caring whether it is right or wrong.
.

that is the scariest thing i ever heard.

 

[Inkheart]

May I please draw everyone's attention to the following quote.......

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its
creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own
brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
​

And that's from Albert Einstein.............