Not about publishing, but about reading. To be fair, this isn’t so much of a dissent as it is a caution.
Albert Einstein was, by all accounts, a voracious reader. And not just mathematics and physics, but also philosophy, theology, biology, the Bible, and other subjects.
[Side note: as a Jew, he was very impressed with Jesus, but we’ll save that one for another day.]
Anyway, I heard this quote yesterday:
Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
~ Albert Einstein
This was shocking to hear at first, but then I started thinking about it. I love to read. I read quite a bit. But strange to say, lately I have been tiring of it a bit.
Time to whip out another quotation:
Of making of many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
~ Ecclesiastes 12:12
I guess with age comes a certain sense of having heard it all. In my case, I sense this very strongly, especially when it comes to religious and devotional books, of which there are many on my bookshelves. At some point, one has to do his own thinking about these things, and not try to live his faith vicariously through the insights of others. To do so, inevitably leads to confusion and a kind of religious schizophrenia which actually inhibits the formation of faith. So, a while ago, I put an embargo on this particular type of reading, and limit myself to careful reading of the Bible only.
It seems then that Dr. Einstein might have something here. Reading in itself doesn’t avail you anything if you don’t stop to really think about what you’ve read. In meditating on the information and concepts presented through reading, you make connections in your brain, strengthening understanding, and the ability to discern truth. This is why the Church fathers recommend lectio divina as a tool for building knowledge of God.
Beach reading excepted of course.
