Books reading & Truthfulness

Throughout history, books have given artists and philosophers an antifragile vehicle to place truth. So what do I mean by this? There are many people who hate to think. When they hear something wise, they’ll react viscerally, or even attack the person that brought them truth. Many in society hate the idea of pursuing truth (becoming less wrong) or developing heuristics and insights about how the world works. As Leo Strauss proposed, the best secrets are often hidden inside stories and books.

Most creatives know this to be true, and know that the only way to deliver truth in a palatable way that can survive attack is a book or parable. Because the book is sold, it helps these ideas survive attack, and gives the author a chance to capture a small amount of value from his or her ideas. This is a big leap forward for humans. Throughout our history, those who make others think are usually the first to be scapegoated, ostracized, or demonized. Books give the would-be scapegoat a vehicle to place their ideas so that they can survive attack, and sometimes even spread because of the attack.

The developed world has evolved in how we persecute those who bring forth truth. We went from horrible past methods of scapegoating (stoning, crucifixion) into small time scapegoating (attempting to cut off an individual’s livelihood by suing, slander, online comments, etc).