A lot people are willing to do a lot of mental gymnastics to try and excuse themselves from reading theory. Which, frankly, I understand. It’s hard and sometimes it’s boring. But there’s just no substitute for it, sorry. You can settle for a bunch of second-hand information regurgitated for you, in which case hopefully you don’t make the mistake of picking some debate streamer grifter to do the regurgitating, good luck
Reading theory is absolutely a cool thing to do, and while everyone can and should read it, I do wonder if it’s unfair to expect everyone to read it. I’m not convinced everybody’s mind is conducive to that.
If someone can’t do it, they can’t do it, of course. But I also think the expectations for what an average person is capable of, in terms of engaging with complex intellectual ideas, has been dramatically lowered and some people are happy to be let off the hook.
A lot people are willing to do a lot of mental gymnastics to try and excuse themselves from reading theory. Which, frankly, I understand. It’s hard and sometimes it’s boring. But there’s just no substitute for it, sorry. You can settle for a bunch of second-hand information regurgitated for you, in which case hopefully you don’t make the mistake of picking some debate streamer grifter to do the regurgitating, good luck
Reading theory is absolutely a cool thing to do, and while everyone can and should read it, I do wonder if it’s unfair to expect everyone to read it. I’m not convinced everybody’s mind is conducive to that.
If someone can’t do it, they can’t do it, of course. But I also think the expectations for what an average person is capable of, in terms of engaging with complex intellectual ideas, has been dramatically lowered and some people are happy to be let off the hook.