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How literate are you?

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How literate are you?
Above Average
Average
Below Average
Manga for life
Some outer force is interfering with your literacy...(Videogames, tv, etc.)
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A daydreamer
 Member

5:50 pm, Jan 20 2013
Posts: 53


I've been reading topics and posts here and there, and I couldn't help but notice some people type up sentences, while others type up paragraphs. Which made me wonder if literacy had anything to do with it, or if it's just preference, or some third thingy...
Anyhoo, what I mean by literate is how good are you at both reading and writing?
Can you read novels (not manga sorry) in hours? days? weeks? months? ...years?
Can you write up pages on any given topic?
Can you stomach a history textbook?
Do you have dreams of lighting libraries on fire?

P.S. I mean this for English speakers, but I suppose this can apply to other languages as well...



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Post #584717
Member

6:06 pm, Jan 20 2013
Posts: 399


Sorry I don't have patience and interest for novels but I do have interest for news, history, science etc etc. Literacy doesn't reallly have anything to do with it for people whose first language is English. Just some people like to write while others don't. Some elaborate (paragraphs replies) so others can undestand what they are trying to say every once in a while. If you look closely on a lot of the long replies you'll notice there are quite a few grammatical mistakes on most of them.

UpWindRelease
Member

6:46 pm, Jan 20 2013
Posts: 6


I think this issue is based off of many factors.

To me, something that could be summarized in a sentence often takes paragraphs to explain. I don't think I make many spelling mistakes, but commas are a Mother F***er to master.

While I prefer to write in paragraphs, it can often be detrimental to the reader. I have proofread too many papers where a run-on paragraph takes up 1-3 pages. Such formatting makes the reader check-out. By splitting my points into smaller sections, the reader has an easier time digesting the content.

Per reading speed, that is difficult to compare. A 1000 page book could hold 1/2 or 3x as many words as another 1000 page book. Factoring in subject muddles the issue further.

I read 12 books averaging 1000 pages in August, but reading a philosophy book could take me months. It is not so much that I do not understand it, but that I understand it too well and have to sit and think about the ramifications.

I listed the books I read in August since I have recently been having difficulty finding relevant subject matter. biggrin

Last edited by thefistone at 6:56 pm, Jan 20 2013

Post #584719
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Mythical Creature
Member

6:53 pm, Jan 20 2013
Posts: 285


Literacy has little to do with wanting to write. I have social disorders and stuff though, so that's probably my problem.

I can stomach history books and enjoy reading science and math books. I can read about 100 pages an hour of a good novel, 400 of a great one.

Post #584735
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Nice desu ne
Member

10:57 pm, Jan 20 2013
Posts: 1132


Someone told me you need to read at least 2000+ words a day in order to maintain your IQ. But I read books because I enjoy them, though my eyesight prevents me from reading nonstop. I consider myself average though, since I read often but I don't read quickly. I've wracked up quite the library fee. The system is rigged, man. RIGGED.

Post #584736 - Reply to (#584719) by Cthylla
user avatar
Member

11:33 pm, Jan 20 2013
Posts: 161


Quote from Cthylla
Literacy has little to do with wanting to write. I have social disorders and stuff though, so that's probably my problem.

I can stomach history books and enjoy reading science and math books. I can read about 100 pages an hour of a good novel, 400 of a great one.

Interesting claim. More than 6 pages a minute is pretty fast, depending on the font.

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2nd wave MU user
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12:00 am, Jan 21 2013
Posts: 7784


I don't really read books. I don't find myself as someone stupid regardless. I do read text, but mainly quick interesting facts. Can't be arsed to sit down and read for 300 pages, at least most of the time.
I am a pretty slow reader, well, not that slow, but if I read really fast, I am having trouble forming a vision inside my head. I am a very visual kind of a guy. I can read facts pretty fast, since they just are as they are, but things that require me to create the view need a bit more time. Might be that I just perceive things I read way too deeply. My mind is also prone to wander to some other thoughts when I read if I don't establish a link between my imagination and the text before me.
I like to think that you can come up with the same stuff yourself just by thinking,
so I don't think literacy necessarily makes you intelligent, just less ignorant if you are
like that. Most stuff you can throw at me after reading things is quotes.
You don't need to read to become Socrates. The things authors write about are all around us and honestly, it's just a question between love and death in every writing.
Literacy to me is more of an art form of choice of words. Wording things ready-minded.
Scientific articles excluded. It's a plus if the author can make facts interesting,
but an introduction to scientific researches and theories with two naked women wading shores knee deep is easily destructive. As a hobby, I see it just as a socially accepted escapist trip. No retinal exposure to magical runes is required for you to use your head.
I do not think reading makes you that much smarter, only if you were, you know, kinda dumb to begin with. Writing is different though. I don't think watching plays makes you a good actor. Might make you a decent dramaturge, but in the end, that is more about very logical memorization, not perfecting a talent. Acting, like writing, is a creative process, way more than just seeing what someone made. You're only going to touch the tip of an iceberg by following what others came up with.

As for writing, I haven't done that ever since I got out of college. At least creative writing. I have filled word documents with things, but those don't have much creativity them, but when I did write stuff in college, I was considered pretty good in the imaginative fields. Spare me the causeries and such though. My style is hardly persuasive or motivational, of course depending on the reader (there are always some people who are dead set trying to make me appear stupid), but holistically by far closer to insightful, whether you want to agree with my ideals or not and if I want my writing to be, enigmatic without appearing superficial or corny. In that sense, writing fiction fits me better. But I am more into painting and singing than into writing.

Last edited by Mamsmilk at 12:25 am, Jan 21 2013

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