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Comment by ethbr1 | Hacker News Reader

Firstly, I absolutely agree with you on books > internet media.

> A curious mind will develop critical thinking skills.

This is the linchpin of the debate.

What if the first book you read at a critical age insists that it alone is true, and that other books should be distrusted at risk of harms to yourself? Say, the Christian Bible.

It is absolutely possible -- unlikely, given the subjects of most books, but possible -- to have harmful information encoded in a book.

The question is then how to blunt those negative outcomes, at scale, democratically, without opening the door to arbitrary political interference of the day.

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As somebody brought up in the Catholic faith, I can assure you that all humans are exposed to varied ideas and alternative books that they can make their own mind up.

Diversity of opinion for me increased after I left school, and that's when I became more critical of the beliefs I held as a child. It's for that reason I think libraries are better than social media - social media is not just the equivalent of a religious tract that insists it is true, it actively prevents you from finding and considering contrary views all by yourself.

>they can make their own mind up

On what basis can they do this? No human is born with a magical algorithm in their brain that can sort good ideas from bad. The only scalpels we have are those which we collect. Critical thinking must be bootstrapped. Mind viruses must be inoculated against. Just because you (eventually!) threw off your case of memetic measles, doesn't mean that everyone does. Some people die of it.

As it is Resurrection Sunday, and see this getting ready for church, wanted to say that I have a large library that is made up of mostly fiction and then Bible resources. I can say with confidence that, if you read the Bible it does not say that you can read only it. However, I will say that if those that proclaim Christ act more like Him, I think that most would be more happy to read it with the thought that it is true. Also, if it is not and people follow what were put as the greatest commandments, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and Love your neighbor as yourself then that would still only benefit society. Often people pick and choose bits and get some crazy thoughts because without the rest of the text in context you are just left with a con. Anyway,my heart was saddened to see people listing the greatest book in history as bad.

> Anyway,my heart was saddened to see people listing the greatest book in history as bad.

Because it's a work of fiction and since it's missionary, it is exactly the kind of work which aims to suppress critical thinking in order to lock the reader into a particular world view for the rest of their lives.

Knowing we will not agree, I will simply leave it that it was the first book on Gutenberg printing press, and that I think we can both agree made books much more widely available. Additionally, I think that must people on this site have more than likely had some logic and critical thinking studies, myself included, and that it is ok to disagree on some things. However, on the logic side, if Heaven is real and there is but one way to get there and not many, only those on that way will get there. If it is real and there are many ways, it doesn't matter what one you pick. If it is not real, then it also doesn't matter. I know if someone wants to hear logical discussions there are apologetics and debaters out there that are good to listen to. With the main thread here, I appreciate libraries and librarians greatly, especially in an age where so much is kept in a mutable form vs the hard copy. I would say that I hope most people have a worldview that they can express, and that it should morph with a deeper understanding of the world as you mature.

There are people who have used it as missionary (they're literally called missionaries sometimes), but the book itself does not suppress critical thinking - in fact some of the stories within it challenged me to think about the World in a very different way, and to consider what kind of person I wanted to be and the place I wanted to inhabit in my life, regardless of faith.

I also did not find it prevented me from changing my World view as I grew up. I am not a practicing christian today, but I do think that many christian parables have helped make me a more rounded, generous and thoughtful human being. I am certainly quite likely more empathetic and loving than many others around me.

Read it as a work of fiction and don't be afraid of it "converting you" into a a robot remotely controlled by the pope. You might be surprised.

'Thou shalts' tend to be antithetical to free thinking. If nothing else, because it absolves readers from having to independently consider things and encouraging relying on community and/or leader dogma.

We can quibble about whether or not dogmatic interpretations are in the original work or were layered on top by the organized church, but at the root of both is the idea that some things must be believed without questioning.

Up and down this thread there are notes about people who were raised in a religious tradition and then branched out -- that's great, but you all are also the exceptions.

There are far more people who believe what they're told, as a consequence of religious indoctrination, until the day they die.

And because of that, on the whole, the Bible (as used in modern Christianity) is anti- free thought.

Fictional books can be good and there are plenty of valuable lessons in the Bible. I know plenty of Christians who are great people capable of critical thinking.

> aims to suppress critical thinking in order to lock the reader into a particular world view for the rest of their lives.

There are a myriad of books that present their POV as absolute truth. Some of them aren't even in the dreaded fiction section! Most books don't end every statement with, "I could be wrong though, do your own research."

> that other books should be distrusted at risk of harms to yourself? Say, the Christian Bible

A bit off topic, but I find it interesting that the Christian Bible is always the example of a "bad" book, when there are other, very popular, religions whose books literally tell them that non-adherents are worthy only of a grisly death.

Maybe because it's the main book chosen by the cults that rule over the Americas today? And most commenters here are American.

If it were a Venn Diagram, the circle of the people subject to the other 'big' religious books would have very little intersection with the set of the people who frequent this forum. It follows then that they would get far less criticism, since there's so much less exposure.

FWIW the Bible contradicts itself enough that a curious/critical mind will have to grapple with what truth is. I know I did as a kid.

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