The real enemies of the poor

[Jim Choate]

On Sun, 29 Jul 2001, Faustine wrote:

> No, that's not it: the only "trust" you give them comes with getting you on 
> the first page in the first place, not what you come to think of it 
> afterward.

Exactly, perfect example of my point. You had already made up your mind
that it was a 'worthy' read from past experience.

> Surely you dont mean to say you never make choices of what to 
> read based on something's potential value to you.

I don't read it unless I think I'll get something out of it; your
assertion is really a tautology (though you don't seem to see that).

> Haven't you ever picked  up a book because you anticipated enjoying it, 
> started reading it, and put it down when you realized the methodology was 
> flawed or the scholarship was poor after all? 

All the time. Irrelevant to the point under discussion though.

> If not, maybe you need to be more discriminate... I bet you 
> have though, and aren't quite the non-judgemental tabula rasa your comments 
> indicate.

Ah, you draw a synonymous comparison that is false. 'expectation' is not
'judgement'. Not synonyms. Expectation is something that happens a priori,
judgement post facto. Further, 'hope' is not 'expectation' either.

As to methodology/scholarship, that's a slippery slope. It could be the
reader not the author...

Another point to add is that by using 'expectation' you're clearly not
approaching the subject without bias (which isn't the same thing, despite
your apparent equivalence, as tabula rasa). For a person to approach a
subject tabula rasa they would need to be ignorant of the subject even in
a subjective sense. If they are aware of the topic the best they can hope
for is non-biased/open minded. Not the same thing.

Generaly when I read a book, assuming it's not for personal pleasure, I'm
not interested in the pro's or con's, but rather what info they can
present that I haven't heard before (back to that hating sequels :). As to
the logical consistency/validity of an argument, I can make my own mind
up. I read books to expand my own model, not to take up anothers.

> Agh, not personality, it comes back to the matter of not wasting time: Some 
> people seldom have anything to say that I find remotely interesting, so 
> I've learned it's in my best interest to skip them.

'wasting time' is 'personality'. Your waste of time is somebodies
jewel of the Nile (I have these images of Creationist books I've read 
flashing through my mind, very unpleasant).

> >I'll make an observation, at the risk of offending sensibilities, from
> >your past commentary you look for work that goes along with what you
> >believe/want.
> 
> Look for? There's reading and then there's recommending. ;)

And there's looking for corroborating evidence... :)

> No, not at all actually. Believe it or not, I'm not so arrogant and self-
> assured that I have to agree with someone to be able to admit when they've 
> got their opposition thoroughly outclassed in terms of sheer knowledge of 
> the subject.

That wasn't where I was going with my commentary. I was simply pointing
out that the way you had worded it made it look like you were choosing
reading/research material based on POV/personality instead of logic of
argument. That you chose reading material based on pleasant past
experience and familiarity rather than raw subject matter relevancy.

As to the general commentary, now it makes more sense with 
clarification...I even agree for the most part.


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                Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night:
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