Quote:
Originally Posted by evman150
Your last point has some substance, but I don't think it makes them "pro-science". It's not pro-science if it makes them read more books like Harry Potter. If all you read is Harry Potter, you are achieving little more than not reading at all (from an intellectual non-hedonistic standpoint).
Many children's books, movies and programming contribute to societal credulity. You can toss them off as fiction, but Harry Potter is one step removed from CS Lewis. It's just my opinion, but I think these things permeate deeper than most think (especially since they're taken in during childhood, when a human is most impressionable).
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The Harry Potter series got more kids reading books -- many kids who didn't like reading books -- than anything else in the last 40 years. When a kid learns that book-learnin' is fun, well then book learnin' is fun, and they read more of everything.
"If all they read is Harry Potter..." is not reality.
JK Rowling is contributing to "societal credulity" like Robert Zemeckis contributed to the belief in a time-travelling De Lorean.
I'd be willing to bet dollars to donuts that a lot of astronomers and fancy scientists with an alphabet following their name are big fans of science fiction. It's the same thing.