When did it become cool to be dumb? When did 'I don't know' become a point of pride rather than shame?
Issac Asimov is often quoted on it: "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." But think about it. From an early age we are training ourselves to hate knowledge. The smarts kids with the good grades were the most ostracized group in schools. The one group that was hated by all other groups. And look where that got us. Right here where we are now with people pretending that they are smart and nowhere near it. Edit: Put down wrong author's name.
In the 19th c. people were illiterate at very high rates.
Just read something that reminded me of this conversation -- "When Tom Paine’s The Rights of Man was published in 1791, his insurrectionary defense of the French Revolution sold more than 50,000 copies in England and Scotland in the first few weeks. Given that most adults were barely literate at the time, the number was extraordinary. Over the decade, Paine’s work is said to have sold an even more unheard-of total of more than 1.5 million copies." From a biography of Ken Galbraith. What's neat is that every time I read historical writing about 18th and 19th century America I am provided with more examples of this phenomenon of massive political efficacy, especially manifesting itself in wide-ranging reading. I wonder if, back when literacy was unusual, the ability to read was taken less for granted -- so that if you had it, you used it, or felt foolish in the same way that someone who buys a car and doesn't drive it should feel foolish. Else how do you explain ... 1.5 million people. In 1791. That's like, a third of the (US) population, or more if you account for slaves who were a) mostly illiterate and b) not generally allowed to read even if they could. Anyway, that's my rambling for the evening.
I'm going to put this more clearly because apparently people think what you said was a refutation of what I said. In the 19th century, people who knew how to read (most) did. In the 21st century, people who know how to read (all) don't. That's what it boils down to.
Well yeah I was thinking of percentage of literate people who read, because that's the relevant way to compare centuries. Lot of people also only had one book (Bible) but those that had the opportunity paid way more attention than any other time of our history.