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Was silent reading unusual during Augustine's time?

78 points · 63 comments · ryanscio

  1. itchingsphynx · · focus · HN ↗
    It’s worth recalling that mass literacy is only about 300 years old, so the modern culture of private reading is only slightly older than the United States, which is probably itself a consequence of mass literacy - sparked by Luther, Gutenberg, etc. Ironically, today the USA is also probably leading the decline in mass literacy woth a “post-literate president.” Maybe book-reading will eventually become an anachronistic hobby, although even Thomas Jefferson made this dire prophecy too about fiction [1].

    “Acoustic representations activated in silent reading are best characterized as inner speech rather than as abstract phonological codes.” [2]

    1. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&#x2F;magazine&#x2F;2026&#x2F;08&#x2F;reading-crisis-postliterate-age&#x2F;687618&#x2F;?gift=j9r7avb6p-KY8zdjhsiSZyM-26EN9jpQa5BZoBCHLjE" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&#x2F;magazine&#x2F;2026&#x2F;08&#x2F;reading-crisis-...

    2. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;link.springer.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;10.3758&#x2F;BF03205520" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;link.springer.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;10.3758&#x2F;BF03205520

    1. RealityVoid · · focus · HN ↗
      Not sure. Since LLM&#x27;s have their spot, I, personally, have been reading much more. And I was no slouch when it came to consuming written materials.

      Sure, some of it is slop, some of it is pretty good. But I did read more.

      1. phoronixrly · · focus · HN ↗
        I&#x27;m sorry, are you reading more because LLMs are doing your job in the meantime or are you reading more because you&#x27;re mostly reading LLM output day to day now?
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