On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 11:20 AM, Pat <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On 5 Mar, 16:01, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: >> Illiteracy appears to be on the decline: >> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy >> >> Sometimes a visual is interesting too. >> >> http://www.mapsofworld.com/thematic-maps/world-illiteracy-map.htm >> >> Of course, the USA has its issues. >> >> http://www.caliteracy.org/rates/ >> > > That reminds me of a time when my father had mentioned to a work > colleague from Alabama that "the South has the highest illiteracy rate > in the country." And the guy responded by holding out his hand (as if > to shake my father's hand) and saying, "Put 'er there!" Implying that > he didn't understand that it was NOT a compliment, thus proving the > point. My father had to really restrain himself from bursting out > laughing at the poor bloke.
Sounds to me like Southern humor. I might just respond in kind after a random insult to The Land Of My Birth. Especially if it came from some Damn Yankee or even worse, a hoity toity Englishman. We don't mind insults but it goes down better when delivered with a smile. Even if it's true. dj > >> Other >> sources:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/21... >> >> And, it is obvious that definitions affect all such reporting. >> >> On Mar 5, 5:37 am, Pat <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> >> > On 4 Mar, 02:02, Molly <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > > "If the novel goes the way of live theater – a medium appealing to >> > > only a small, relatively rarefied segment of the population – what, if >> > > anything, will be lost? What can a novel do for us that other art >> > > forms can’t?” >> >> > >http://siobhancurious.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/encountering-the-other... >> >> > > What do you think? >> >> > I don't think it's likely to go away. In fact, the newer concepts of >> > e-books are more likely to fade away than pen-on-paper due to the >> > potential for electronic sabotage. Whilst Great Libraries (like >> > Alexandria) may burn and destroy many instances of great works, the >> > concept of writing won't fade unless the entire species is wiped out, >> > as even most illiterates know about writing and, given a crises, may >> > re-develop it, as illiteratacy doesn't, of necessity, imply >> > uneducability or lack of intelligence. Heck, we still have The Epic >> > of Gilgamesh (an example of a very old 'novel') written in cuneiform >> > on clay tablets, and that's lasted for thousands of years. >> >> > Even human extinction may not wipe out literature from the Earth, as >> > it may pave the way for other species to evolve and create their own. >> > It would be interesting to hear the tales written by intellectual >> > insects: The Story of the Lazy Bee; The Emperor Moth's Post-Pupate >> > Clothes; 50 Ways to Kill You Lover by B. Widow and P. Mantis. The >> > list goes on...- Hide quoted text - >> >> - Show quoted text - > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > ""Minds Eye"" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.
