Another good topic. Here's my take on people who think reading is dorky and such.
A few of my favorite ideas:
1) People who tell me you can't learn everything from a book. True as this is, you can learn a tremendous amount from books and you can do it at your pace in your place. That, and experience will teach you the lesson you didn't want to learn and maybe someone put it in a book so you don't have to take that hard knock.
2) The people who are often criticized as being dorky or "uncool" because they read typically turn out to be people known as "Doctor," "Attorney," "Boss," and so on. These professions require a tremendous amount of knowledge, much of which comes from books not read by the previous judges of their character. All those fools now need that dork to do the open heart surgery, argue before the judge, or repair the computer they use for, umm..., less than noble viewing.
3) I have nothing against sports, in fact believe that athletics is good for the mind. However, it always amazes me the breadth and depth of knowledge many people have about professional sports. They can quote statistics going back decades and remember play by play accounts of individual games. At the same time, they don't take the time to read more practical information, something that would make their lives better or more financially secure. Is it truly "dorky" to read a few books and be able to understand the stock market, or what eating three bacon sandwiches a day does to your arteries, or that there are better ways to do a millions things? I guess it is.
Let them judge on, it makes it so much easier for the reading community to thrive and prosper.
