

Wandering the web stacks, or, fighting intellectual atrophy on the internet - jsomers
http://jsomers.net/blog/wandering-the-web-stacks

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jseliger
In some ways, the author is describing problems similar to those Julian
Sanchez discussed in The Perils of Pop Philosophy (which I discuss in turn
here: [http://jseliger.com/2009/06/01/highly-recommended-the-
perils...](http://jseliger.com/2009/06/01/highly-recommended-the-perils-of-
pop-philosophy) ). As Sanchez says:

"Those are real enough, but there’s also the problem that the general glut of
information and opinion makes it disconcertingly easy to kid yourself about
how well you understand a particular topic."

Skimming vacuous websites won't get us to knowledge, and at this point,
reading books more often will. The trick is being able to find the pointers to
the books you should read, which I think the web is very good at, and which I
try to contribute to in my own small way.

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ascuttlefish
Thanks for the great tips. I've been bored with the usual suspects in my
bookmarks, and have returned to reading dead trees again. I'm loving it! But I
suspect your advice here will help me rejuvenate my love affair with the
internet.

