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People Who Have Never Read A Book

It's been said that the entire middle east's book sales are equivalent to that of Greece. Some people could learn a lot from books.
 
Andy X,

..
Spudrick68 said:
John Lydon is an avid reader and has said that an education is nothing to be afraid of, and I think that he's right. When asked what his ambition was he said to read every book ever written.

Except the ones written by hippies of course.

You mean things like 'Desolation Angels' and 'The Dahma Bums' by Jack Kerouac ?

INT21
 
Spookdaddy,

..When I was very young my dad told me that if I learned to love reading I would never be bored or lonely...

Mine told me that no one ever learned anything from books.

Mind you, he only read westerns, so in his own case he was probably right.

R.I.P Dad.

INT21

Ah but you were ever in a stagecoach being held up by outlaws he would have known what to do.
 
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.

I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.

Groucho Marx
 
Bigphoot,

..Ah but you were ever in a stagecoach being held up by outlaws he would have known what to do...

Yes, book a seat on Virgin next time.

INT21
 
Once I reached the age of obtaining gainful employment, I got greedy in my book-collecting, but why not? As near as I could tell, they were only being printed for me!

A schoolfriend once asked, when he was round our house, 'why have you got so many books?'. In later life I've been asked the same sort of questions: "what do you need all these books for?" etc. I don't even have that many.

My Dad used to laugh about how a relative once said, when he'd bought a book or two, "...but you've already got loads of books!", as though books are like tins of baked beans. To be fair, quite a few of them are: is it really necessary to own two Dan Browns, for example ;)

My Dad reckoned he learned a lot from reading old westerns.
He did too.

Another schoolmate struggled badly with reading (he's very bright but quite dyslexic). The school completely failed him, with one teacher pretty much telling his parents that he was probably retarded and so nothing could be done - this, incredibly was in the 1980s. To his credit he found some literature that appealed to his interests, such as the Fleming James Bond novels and those 'Target' Doctor Who books and managed to teach himself to read through sheer enthusiasm.

I think my grandad did something similar, having received little formal education, and having gained in fluency through his own efforts became an avid reader. Which brings me on to...

[...] To combat the staggering tedium which clearly accompanied many people's army years he had picked up the habit of reading absolutely everything - from books, to out of date newspapers, to the information writtem on the side of tinned goods and packets of tea. I picked the habit up at a very young age.

My grandad used to say that both my Dad and I would 'read the label on a sauce bottle', and he wasn't wrong - although it seemed to escape his notice that he'd do the exact same thing - which makes me wonder if reading at the table (considered bad manners until quite recently) might be a symptom of some genetic quirk :)
 
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When I was in the middle East I practiced my Arabic numbers by reading car registration plates.

Have you noticed that while the Arab script is written and read from right to left, the numbering system is read from left to right; same as we do.

INT21.
 
When I was in the middle East I practiced my Arabic numbers by reading car registration plates.

Have you noticed that while the Arab script is written and read from right to left, the numbering system is read from left to right; same as we do.

INT21.
Maybe that's a tacit acknowledgement that they have to fit in with what the rest of the world is doing?
 
Except we derived our number system from them. And it is believed they got it from India.

If you take the second, third and fourth digits of the Arabic number system and rotate them anti-clockwise 90 degree you can clearly see 1,2,3,4. No need to rotate the '1'.

The Greeks were late into the game and the Roman system was useless for calculation.

INT21
 
I'm not sure that he was, despite the hippy hair (according to Nick Kent Lydon didn't even know the basics, such as how to roll a joint). Wasn't he more a Hawkwind-loving speedfreak?

He reminds me of Charles Manson in that picture.

He used to flog acid at Hawkwind gigs - that would seem to pretty much cement his hippy credentials to me.
 
Maybe that's a tacit acknowledgement that they have to fit in with what the rest of the world is doing?

Not quite the rest of the world. Chinese languages are usually written right to left...there's a few folk there.
 
He used to flog acid at Hawkwind gigs - that would seem to pretty much cement his hippy credentials to me.

Interesting; didn't know that (can only imagine his sales pitch), but would you describe Lemmy as a hippy? I'd place Lydon more in his camp - however it might be described.
 
Except we derived our number system from them. And it is believed they got it from India.

If you take the second, third and fourth digits of the Arabic number system and rotate them anti-clockwise 90 degree you can clearly see 1,2,3,4. No need to rotate the '1'.

The Greeks were late into the game and the Roman system was useless for calculation.

INT21

I have read (wouldn't necessarily vouch for the truth of this) that in some circles: with the numerals which we use being often called "Arabic" numerals (got by us -- as mentioned above -- from the Arabs) -- as opposed to Roman ones; the numerals as used in the Arab world (different in detail, functioning the same way), are referred to as "Semitic" numerals. At first sight, seems a little odd -- "Semite / Semitic" suggesting first-off, things Jewish; and, Arabs and Jews... but both are in fact Semitic peoples -- both supposedly descended from Noah's son Shem.
 
..
both supposedly descended from Noah's son Shem...

Glad you used the word 'supposedly'.

Animals two by two ?

Yeah well.

INT21
 
..
both supposedly descended from Noah's son Shem...

Glad you used the word 'supposedly'.

Animals two by two ?

Yeah well.

INT21
Who did Shem marry? The mystery of the ages...
 
Interesting; didn't know that (can only imagine his sales pitch), but would you describe Lemmy as a hippy? I'd place Lydon more in his camp - however it might be described.


I'd classify them both the same way I classify myself - freaks! (man).
 
...and the idea of a funky baboon is frankly preposterous.
 
l don’t think anyone would buy a Stanley Baboon’s Stamp Catalogue.

On the other hand, a hairdresser named Fidel Baboon would be hilarious.

maximus otter
 
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