[MD] How to Gut a Book

[Dan Glover]

Hello everyone

>From: "ian glendinning" <psybertron at gmail.com>
>Reply-To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
>To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
>Subject: Re: [MD] How to Gut a Book
>Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 04:20:40 +0000
>
>The difference Dan is between 100% recall and 100% understanding, so
>you kinda make the point yourself.

Hi Ian

Please explain how a person obtains 100% understanding by not reading a 
book. Does pretending as if one has read a book equal understanding the 
book? How much understanding of Walden could Lavery have gained by only 
reading 50 pages or so? Are you saying he understands the book better than 
the person who has read the whole book? As an academic, would you feel 
comfortable having a professor who teaches with books they've never read? 
How about flying on a plane with a pilot who only pretends they know how to 
fly?

>
>If you want 100% recall instead of understanding, use a photocopier
>(or speed reading and a photographic memory)
>If you want to understand, recognise the key patterns in a book, and
>forget most of the words, in fact don't even feel guilty about not
>having time to read them.

I take it you don't speed read. A person can't read thousands of words a 
minute by reading every word. Perhaps this is the source of the 
misunderstanding. I've never felt "guilty" about not having time to read on 
account I've never had to read. For me, it would be like feeling guilty for 
not having time to breathe.

>
>Apart from Lavery (Barfield and the Descartes Evil Genius project) the
>Pirsig connection is the difference between philosophology and
>philosophy.

Could you please point me to where Robert Pirsig references Barfield?

>
>The former is about reading other peoples philosophies, the latter is
>about recognising a good philosophy when you see one.

I tend to disagree with your assessment. Philosophy is in the doing. 
Philosophology is about the study of the doing. In my (non-academic) 
opinion, of course. I still fail to understand how a person can recognize 
good philosophy by claiming to read that which they haven't. I'm sorry but 
that simply doesn't make sense (to me).

Thank you for your comments,

Dan

>
>Ian
>
>On 2/5/07, Dan Glover <daneglover at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Hello everyone
> >
> > >From: "ian glendinning" <psybertron at gmail.com>
> > >Reply-To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
> > >To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
> > >Subject: [MD] How to Gut a Book
> > >Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 23:26:40 +0000
> > >
> > >Hi MoQ'ers.
> > >
> > >I read a very interesting 1989 article by David Lavery today
> > >(and blogged about it).
> > >http://www.psybertron.org/?p=1360
> > >Pirsig scholars will recognise Lavery as a Barfield scholar.
> > >
> > >If you don't fancy reading my stream of thought (aka drivel) just
> > >click directly on the first link to the "How to Gut a Book" article
> > >itself.
> > >
> > >Interesting, I hope you'll agree ?
> >
> > Hi Ian
> >
> > I am afraid the article didn't make a lot of sense to me but then again 
>I'm
> > not an academic like Lavery. I see he puts down speed reading as a poor
> > relation to "book gutting" yet at the same time admits he freely lied 
>about
> > reading Walden while at the university and even clipped quotes from the 
>book
> > to impress others. (Does that remind you of anyone here?) Kind of funny 
>that
> > I read the same book in less than an hour with near 100% recall.
> >
> > I guess I just don't get the point. Perhaps you could help me out. What 
>drew
> > your interest to this article? How does it relate to the MOQ?
> >
> > Dan
> >
> >
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