/lit/ - Literature

It makes you smarter

Yes, literature can lead you to Christ if you read the right things.

>>12287096
What the fuck is your alternative? Do you actually do something with your time?

>>12287096
Don't stress about it. If you honestly think your time would be better spent doing something that you could more enjoyment out of, go with it. Life's short man.

>>12287102
I'm already a Christian though. I try to keep making a dent in the bible slowly and steadily

>>12287099
Does it really though?

life isn't about showing off your achievements
you read to learn different perspectives, to give more depth to your thoughs, to have a better grasp of communication, but all of this is invisible. it's not like lifting weights, you can do both or neither, it's your life.

>>12287104
>Hostility and defensiveness to a neutral question
Hmm

>>12287108
It can strengthen your faith. Jesus can always grow larger in your heart. But good for you, anon.

>>12287115
I don't consider The Bible as part as "literature". If you're a Christian, The Bible is divine wisdom so it goes without saying that there is benefits to reading it.

I'm talking more about reading political theory/philosophy/fiction and that sort of thing

>>12287112
Fuck you, I'll be aggressive with you shitheads, you don't deserve anything better. Shitting the board with your inane shit. Is there benefit to reading books? What the fuck do you think? You're gonna figure this shit out with some answers from ennui-ridden millenials? Dear God, the kind of people I have to live with. Go to the shower, then to sleep. Tomorrow you will get a job. No other advice will come.

>>12287134
>Shitting the board with your inane shit. Is there benefit to reading books? What the fuck do you think? You're gonna figure this shit out with some answers from ennui-ridden millenials? Dear God, the kind of people I have to live with. Go to the shower, then to sleep. Tomorrow you will get a job. No other advice will come.
Sounds like mommy issues

>>12287096
>Whenever I sit down to read something interesting, about 20 minutes in I start thinking about how I'm wasting time doing something somewhat difficult and I'll have nothing to show for it

Yeah, I'm sure you otherwise use other moments of your freetime to its utmost capacity. Is this thread's existence "something to show" for your time?

>>12287096
You'll understand your world, better. You'll be able to make smarter decisions in life. And you go can grow as a person.

>>12287140
>Yeah, I'm sure you otherwise use other moments of your freetime to its utmost capacity. Is this thread's existence "something to show" for your time?
Yeah it's an interesting question

You can tell it's interesting by how much beta rage it's causing. A lifetime of mommy issues and onions flaring up from just one question

If the use of the book isn't obvious to you from the very start then it's meaningless. It's like trying to question why you should look at paintings or listen to music.

>>12287177
>It's like trying to question why you should look at paintings or listen to music.
Typically for recreation or exploring creative ideas, also for the purpose of recreation

I am a classical musician so I listen to a lot of classical music because it gives me ideas. That is the practical purpose of it, for me.

But going off of this anon's answer >>12287156

To what degree can reading help you make better decisions?

>>12287096
>be me
>at party
>cutie with DD talks to me
>her thesis is all about Walter Benjamin
>i just read all about homeboy
>great icebreaker
>great conversation
>great sex

read friend it will open doors for sure

>>12287199
Read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Shows you all the good and bad decisions people make in life.

Its just another thing to do. Like anything else that can be done, it passes time and changes people that participate. That change is characterized by how far the reader will go to gain something from the text.

Basically, you have to already want to get something from literature in order to get something from literature. Otherwise, just take a paper-printed mentor like JPB or the "How to Influence People" book and you'll get some generic advice that you can use. But literature per say is a bit different.

>>12287199
>typically for recreation...

You just answered your own question anon.

*bes a smug turd* Hmm, yes! I see my question is provoking reactions. That only proves this is a worthwhile use of my time *smugs harder*

>>12287199
To start: I'm more sensitive to the emotions of others. This means I'm more introspective when I'm with people, and try to listen more to what they have to say. I'm simply a better listener and can handle conversations better.

And I feel like it when it comes to big decisions in life, I can simply think through the consequences better.

>>12287263
>That only proves this is a worthwhile use of my time *smugs harder*
I never implied this, you can't even mock somebody correctly. Try reading a book to learn how

>>12287307
>You can tell it's interesting by how much beta rage it's causing. A lifetime of mommy issues and onions flaring up from just one question
*smugs some more*

>>12287221
>you have to already want to get something from literature to get something for literature

This

You are saving time.

You spent 1 day reading the filtered thoughts of 1-5 years in another persons life.

If the writer is erudite, he himself is a zipfile containing many years worth of reading and thinking; your time savings are now astronomical, if you can understand him.

>>12287096
So don't read. The world gains or loses nothing from you not reading. Go be a pragmatic faggot somewhere else.

>>12287950
Wow, I sure hit a nerve with my great question. Mommy issues? Onions?

>>12287112
>>12287139
la creatura...

>>12287096
No, masturbating to E-Celeb trash is a much better use of your time.

>>12287855
This, and also, a good novelist will cover the varieties of human experience which you may not, and perhaps in dome cases, cannot experience except through reading it

>>12287096
It is something to do while I'm waiting around to die.

>>12287855
>You spent 1 day reading the filtered thoughts of 1-5 years in another persons life.

That's a good point

>>12287982
Racism isn't funny

>>12287096
>He reads to impress other people
No need to read then

>>12287096
I'm the past literature was a highly beneficial pass time for both gaining knowledge and being entertained.

However, nowadays there are modern mediums that do both of those better than books. Video games and TV series are objectively more entertaining than books, we can measure the amount of dopamine released during each activity and video games easily best out books. Similarly the internet allows you to learn literally anything that a book could have taught you but 100 times more efficiently. Whatever knowledge a 500 page book might have had can generally be condensed into a 10 minute YouTube video.

The only reason to read in 2018 (almost 2019) is because you purely enjoy the act of reading itself. Otherwise there is little reason to waste your time with books.

>>12288267
>Video games and TV series are objectively more entertaining than books
Then explain why I long dropped videogames and barely watch movies anymore, yet books never got stale.
>Similarly the internet allows you to learn literally anything that a book could have taught you but 100 times more efficiently
This is patently wrong. Nothing can translate ideas faster and clearer than words. Proof: we communicate right now using words, and not, I dunno, webms

Externally no theres very little to gain from reading (unless it's a cook book or something), but neither is there from music, films, games etc so you gonna stop all of that?. If you want something to show for time you spent in something become or sculptor or painter, or a writer.

what a blackpill

I thought I'm getting wiser and more knowledgeable by reading

>>12287096
Being strong requires a strong world view and you usually develop that from reading philosophy.
Reading well written prose and exercising your own writing trains your communication skills.
Reading a good character study often reveals a lot about your own character.

>>12288118
Then why does it make me laugh?

>>12287096
Imagine thrusting your penis rhythmically between her breasts haha

>>12287096


jeses christ i want to see her asshole

anyways

actuall studies have proven your mirror neurons or whatever are activated reading... parrellely or causally your emotional centers are activated... your social iq increases... your able to see different sides to the arguemnt which is an incredably powerfull tool

this works with films and books but not tv maybe cause tv shows are too short... (hour long tv may be better we need to witness a character arch perhaps)

>muh practical value
Nigga unless you're a top scientist currently developing the cure for cancer or someone of that nature, all of your time is fucking worthless and should be spent for personal joy. Does reading cause you joy? Then it's practical.

>>12287096
>Whenever I sit down to read something interesting, about 20 minutes in I start thinking about how I'm wasting time doing something somewhat difficult and I'll have nothing to show for it by the time I'm finished with the book.
What kind of books are you reading in the first place? Based on your comment I can guess you're reading fantasy, it's not a waste of time if it's a nice book with a nice message and full of all the good storytelling rules, since those stories teach and reinforce morals and even questions us about it (see controversial books like Lolita).
But yes, reading too much of it can be a distraction, I guess you're a man like me, according to some studies, me are more interested and satisfied with non-fiction, if that's the case you're better off reading that. Those books are definetely worth your time and enrich you more than a fantasy book since non-fiction can cultivate you on multiple subjects that can be used in real life, for instance
>Plumbing books
>Economy books
>Psychology books
>Math books
>Politics books
>Chemestry books
>History books
>Physics books
>Photography books
>Parenting books
And the list goes on. Not to mention that, since those books don't have multiple complex words on it (fiction writers need to put a bunch to be more concise), you don't have to stop every 5 lines to check the dictionary.
Just avoid "self-improvement" books and there you go, reading and enjoying valuable things.

>>12287096
Reading is the only way of not being a complete ignorant

>>12287099
Intelligence is fixed.

>>12287108
You're a low IQ "Christian" and a hypocrite at that. You have no desire for wisdom or the truth.
Reminder protestants are NOT Christians but heretics. Worse they corrupt Christ into a Santa Claus figure to induce them TO sin. This isn't Christ. This isn't the will of the Father. This is anti Christ and Satanism. You change truth into a lie and worship the creature (your OP pic) more than the Creator. You are a disgrace.

If you really desire God, you must
Repent. Believe in the gospel. Get baptized at a Catholic church.

>>12288834
This is literally one of the best posts I’ve seen on /lit/

Unironically, for sure

>>12288898
Intelligence is, knowledge isn't.

we have this thread every fucking single day

turn it off, literature is not your thing that's it

>>12288267
>Whatever knowledge a 500 page book might have had can generally be condensed into a 10 minute YouTube video.

>implying this is better

>he needs to be able to “show off” his literary accomplishments.
Do you really need to be able to brag about things to say that you’ve done something?

>>12287855
damn, that's very nice

>>12288267
Why don't we all just sniff cocaine and masturbate 24/7? It releases a lot of dopamine!

>>12287096
no

>>12287855
>zipfile

Brittany is bae

>>12289334
>hurr durr why don't hedonists destroy their lives for maximised short term pleasure
Are you literally 12?

>>12288267
based and redpilled

>>12287096
Art intensifies the feeling of being alive.

>>12287096

To me, it seems that reading a good variety of renowned material will enrich the meaning and attitude towards the life you're living. Whether you designate this as recreational or a more serious endeavor, I think the benefit will come either way.

When it comes down to the sake of being well read, you will benefit the most in the mind from reading good works of fiction AND non-fiction; they are two sides of the same coin, which is your overall understanding of the language arts. Reading logical texts can at least indirectly help improve your comprehension of prose, and vice versa. It invigorates our emotional AND our logical comprehension of life, thus giving us a more holistic understanding and appreciation of what and where we are.

Learning the language of the culture you live in is now considered the status quo of coherency in our world, and for a good reason. Whatever you do in life, it seems to me that everyone should make time for at least a few great books in their life.

it makes you fuck

>>12289334
Because cocaine and chronic masturbation can have serious negative side effects in the long term. Meanwhile, video games and tv show binging are harmless and easy ways of achieving dopamine surges.

you don't really understand the implication of words of concepts that well. stories allow you to slowly build more complex concepts and the implications of words so that you could understand it easier. you can do it with other methods but dry descriptions like the dictionary or wiki aren't very good for illustrating extremely obtuse and abstract ideas.


symmetrical logic works for certain stuff, but not everything. just like "explaining" a picture doesn't actually work as well as showing it. somebody can tell you a simple truth, but it doesn't really click. you read a story demonstrating the truth and how it influences various people suddenly you comprehend it.

>>12288118
that not racism, thats reality and pretty sad, because mutts suck

>>12288924
You are everything you just accused them of.

If their Christ is Santa, your confessionals are toothfairy exchange.

Need I remind you of how many crusades you catholics start? Need i remind you of pope Pius and Borgia? Need I remind you of the paedopriests who dont even have the decency of making Thriller to make up for decades of wideningg altarbois cockholders?

You are not creditable re:Catholic church as the Will of God. Catholicism as a theology maybe, but not the church body itself.

>>12287108
Literature can lead you out of the darkness of theism if you read the right things. It can make you smarter.

>>12288834
>don't have multiple complex words in it.
>lists books from fields with extensive jargon

>>12287108
If you're a true Christian (not some sectarian Protestant) you should also read the Church and Desert Fathers. In accordance to the time of the year I recommend starting with "On the Incarnation of the Verb" by St. Athanasius.

>>12292749
Every book from those categories I've picked have the definition of each complex word at the bottom or the side of the page, not the case with novels

>>12287199
literature by virtue of being artistic expresses ideas that are more complex than the sums of their parts, and they sort themselves into archetypes that can serve as templates for you to compare real issues and examples to (like you do with mythology already)

>>12292773
Catholics aren’t real Christians

>>12287096
>Practical
Only plebs care about the practical.
The aesthetic is beyond recreational, it's psychological in it's original meaning.

>>12292824
Being aesthethic doesn't mean anything if the content is trash, let's imagin the you manage to be with the most beautiful womean you've ever seen, but she's a piece of cardboard in bed, she doesn't move, or laughs, kisses you, or cuddles you, or says nice things while you're giving her your love, it's useless. I rather have a 6/10 woman that does all of that than a 10/10 manikin. Same can be applied to books, you can have a nice and aesthetic prose, bt it's not worth it if your story is trash

>>12287999

thank god someone else called this shithead out on this