What books can do to improve us as people

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

That was a quote by Albert Einstein, esteemed theoretical physicist, and some might say the father of modern physics. It might sound like an odd thing to say for someone who had such a deep love and understanding of the sciences and the real world, as typically, scientists are used to working in a lab, with things that are measurable. They collect data and build reports. So what was Einstein doing talking about something intangible, something that lives in our minds? Well, Einstein realized that there is more to life than what we can perceive with our five senses alone. And he knew that the only way to get there was through our imaginations. He knew that we first had to dream the impossible dream, and only then can we make it a reality.

It seems that we have things a little backwards in our society today though. Not many people esteem imagination, books or reading, or even intelligence. Often, society calls the ones who do as nerds, geeks or four-eyes. Sometimes this even results in bullying, victimization or abuse.

Instead, many have fallen prey to the images that we find in glossy magazines, newspapers and on TV: perfectly airbrushed models trying to sell us things, that most of the time we don’t even need. Things like a newer, fancier car, or even flashier clothes. I’m talking about adverts like the Axe deodorant ad on the right. The underlying message is if you wear Axe, women will be all over you. And look at his smile; if you wear Axe, you’ll be happy and everything will be great in your life. From years of personal experience, I can tell you that this is basically a lie!

Adverts like this, tell us to ‘work’ on our outsides: buy better shoes, a bigger house, more of this or that. It tells us that we can find happiness in buying things and materialism: gadgets and gizmos such as cell phones and other communication technology devices. It’s cool to have the latest cell phone today: Galaxy S4 or iPhone. I went to a shopping centre the other day and found eight stores dedicated to selling cell phones and accessories. In some homes today, when mom is cooking, she uses her Blackberry to tell the children that supper is ready, instead of walking the few steps to talk to them face to face.

In addition to the way we communicate today, technology has also influenced how we entertain ourselves. Many people believe that lying in front of the TV and allowing one’s brain to rot is an acceptable past time. We perpetuate this in our society. TV isn’t the only electronic way we entertain ourselves. There is also internet and video games and many others.

Because of all of this, the demand for information is almost instant today. Instead of using what’s inside our heads to figure something out, many would rather just Google it. Some can’t even do a simple two times two without a calculator, because they never bothered to learn their times tables. Instead of spending the time to research for our essays, we use a company like essaylab.com. This site offers to write the papers for us for a cheap price. This is often the state of our current society. In addition, only one per cent of our population are book buyers, fourteen per cent are regular readers and a very minuscule five per cent of parents read to their children.

So what, some of you may ask. What’s the big deal with all that? It’s my life, so what if I want to lie around all day and watch TV, and communicate with everyone via MXIT. Well, with TV specifically, scientists have conducted many studies. They proved that too much TV could lead to anti-social behaviour, addiction and other mental illnesses. Especially when we are children, TV can lead to an underdeveloped brain. When we are growing up, there are window periods where certain parts of our brains mature and expand. If our brains aren’t stimulated during these window periods, the damage can be irreversible, and your brain may never fully develop. Unfortunately, TV doesn’t stimulate many of these parts of the brain. TV can also lead to an inability to speak properly. Human beings learn to communicate with one another via face-to-face interactions, not from a TV screen. Further to this, and contrary to what some believe, there is little educational benefit from watching TV.

In his poem Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, written in the early 1960’s, Roald Dahl warned about the destructive effects of TV viewing: “It kills the imagination dead!” and children’s “powers of thinking rust and freeze!” On the left, is the cover for the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory along with another Roald Dahl book James and the Giant Peach, which we read when I was in school.

Despite all this, technology continues to infiltrate our society. At the same time, however, depression and other mental illnesses are also on the rise. We can only wonder if there is a link between them… I’m sure the labs and universities all over the world have conducted many studies on this subject, but I want to give you my take.

We have five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. When using electronics, say watching TV, we can only properly engage with two of our senses: sight and hearing. This makes for a very dull and under stimulated existence; not the visceral living of which human beings are capable. In addition, we aren’t interacting with what to me are our two most important senses: smell and touch.

Smell is our oldest sense, our most primal. It is the sense that is most linked to memories. And memories are important because they tell us who we are. They give us our outlook on life. Most importantly, they are our identities. A world without smell is a world where it’s easy to forget who we are.

Touch: over the years, many people have written about love and its importance to humans. In the 1960’s the Beatles sang, “All you need is love.” Now, it might sound like a cliché, but the older I get the more and more I realize just how important messages like that are. I wrote a book (Through the Crimson Mirror) about my experiences growing up and the changes I’d like to see in the way parents raise their children today. In doing the research for my book, I interviewed many people from alcoholics to drug addicts to people who work with those in prison, etc. What I found is that in an overwhelming number of cases, whether the person turned out to be a criminal, a bully, even those who are bullied, those with mental illnesses, etc., if you look deep enough, there is usually a lack of love in their lives. Often it starts with their parents.

The sad thing is, as I’ve explained above about the beliefs our society currently holds, often parents don’t realize that they aren’t loving their children correctly. Very persuasive marketing surreptitiously tells society that if they buy their children a Play Station 3 or the latest this or that, that’s love. Sadly, it’s not.

So, what does touch have to do with all this? Well, love is a feeling. Therefore, by definition, touch is our sense of love. Yes, technology will one day replicate the warmth and texture of a human hand. However, the more I learn, the more I realize there is something more to this world, and technology will never be able to replicate that. Nothing will ever come close to the comfort found in the simple laying of hands or the embrace of another human being. If this is what we are losing out with technology, we have to ask ourselves, is it really worth it?

It’s no secret our society, South Africa, has some problems. We have a government that is rife with crime and corruption, a largely uneducated population and an economy that fails to meet the basic needs of many of its people: including a roof over their heads, warm clothes on their back and food in their stomachs every day. To you, I say these problems are real. For this and many other reasons, countless citizens have already left our shores. They’ve gone over to the so-called first world in search of greener pastures. Places like America, Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand. They and many of the people who still live here demand access to the luxuries that the first world enjoys: cheap goods and services, free education and healthcare, etc. But I ask you, do we deserve all these luxuries…

As I said earlier, I wrote a book about my experiences growing up. On weekends, I go to markets and sell my book. In one of these markets, I met a couple from the UK. A part of their business is collecting second-hand books from people in England and bringing them down to South Africa for distribution to underprivileged schools. We chatted about our different cultures and they were shocked at how few people in South Africa read. As I said earlier, only 14% of our population are regular readers. They said that in England almost everyone walks around with a book or some reading material, tucked under their arm or in their bag. I was on the radio the other day, and one of the other guests said, in some countries where there is a long delay between red and green lights in the traffic, taxi drivers pull out novels and read between the lights. So again, I ask, do we deserve the luxuries of the first world, when large parts of our population fail to do the things that people in the first world do? Yes, our government has problems and the challenges we face are real. However, the biggest problem here is the people and our inability to do what we need to do to work on our most valuable asset: our minds!

So, I’ve been banging on about how bad technology is, and I’ve written a little about books. Why should you read books? Books expand your mind. It’s like a workout. Same as when you work out your body and it grows, so does your mind grow. The only difference is, instead of doing a pushup or running around the field, you’re reading a paragraph. And it’s not only the information that’s found within books that helps the mind to expand. It’s also the act of reading itself.

Books give you the courage to think differently, so that you may be able to change the circumstances in your life. They light the path in front of you and show you new horizons. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.”

Unlike TV, reading is an active mental process. This means you are actively engaging your brain. This makes you smarter and allows your imagination to grow. This will help you to see new worlds. I remember reading the Harry Potter books a few years ago and seeing the wonderful worlds, JK Rowling had so vividly imagined in her mind. I’m talking about places like Hogwarts castle on the left. The act of her sitting down and writing out what she saw in her mind allowed me to visit lands that I didn’t even know existed.

Books are a skill builder; they help clarify difficult subjects. There is only so much that teachers can teach us, as their time is limited. When something peaks your interest, it’s up to you to continue your learning. For every good course, workshop, subject or skill out there, there is an accompanying book, which can help you to further your knowledge.

Books can help you to earn more money. As you read more in your chosen career or field, you gain more knowledge and become specialized. From there it’s simply supply and demand. If you can supply companies and employers with more skills, there will be a greater demand for you. This affords you the opportunity to ask for more money. Obviously, this isn’t a guarantee. One needs many other skills, in addition to knowledge, to get a raise. However, it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Reading is also a fantastic form of entertainment, which unfortunately is being lost in our society. Unlike electronic forms of entertainment, books cost almost nothing: you can go to a library right now and get a book free. Some gaming consoles cost thousands and the games more and more hundreds. Books require no plug points or anything else, except you and your imagination. In fact, books can help you get away from all the digital distractions that we find in our lives today. Books and reading are your ammunition and armour, in a world that is becoming more and more focused on technology and data.

Books can help you acquire the thinking necessary to overcome obstacles in your life. One of the biggest obstacles one may have to overcome today is time spent surrounded by prison walls. Often, those who leave jail, re-enter society lost and confused and with nowhere to go. With no dreams or goals to believe in, with many returning to a life of crime, and the cycle continues. As Nelson Mandela once said, “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.” Reading opens your mind, so that you may find another life to believe in.

One man who used his time in prison effectively is Malcolm X. Malcolm was born in America in 1925. This is a time in America’s history when black people didn’t have many rights. As a result, he had a tough upbringing. In addition, he lost both his parents before his 14^th birthday. First, Malcolm’s father was killed, allegedly by white supremacists. A few years later, his mother suffered a mental breakdown and was admitted to the hospital. Malcolm and his six siblings were split up and forced into a series of foster homes.

Through it all, Malcolm persevered and did well at school. He aspired to study law, but dropped out after a teacher said that, that was, “no realistic goal for a black person.” It made him feel that there was no place in the white world for a career orientated black man, so at age 18 he became involved in drug dealing, gambling, robbery, pimping and other crimes. In 1946, at age 20, police arrested and sentenced to him eight years in jail for robbery.

In prison, Malcolm met John Bembry, a self-educated man who he would later describe as “the first man I had ever seen who commanded total respect…with words.” Under Bembry’s influence, Malcolm developed a voracious appetite for reading.

Malcolm was paroled in 1952. Soon after his release, he quickly rose to power in various organizations that fought for the rights of human beings. It culminated in him starting the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

When questioned by a religious leader about his time in prison he said, “Between my correspondence, my visitors, and my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I had never been so truly free in my life.”

The picture alongside is of an SR-71 Blackbird stealth plane. It was the goal of the man who wrote A Child Called Its dream to be a part of the team that worked on this plane. His name is Dave Pelzer. His life wasn’t always fun and flying, though. At the age of four, his mother started to abuse him. It isn’t in the book, but I can only imagine that his mother must have been severely mentally ill. She would lock him in the bathroom with chemicals in a bucket, which made David cough up blood. She would beat him until he was black and blue. She even stabbed him once, by accident. Her worst punishment, however, was denying him food. She would not allow David to eat for days and days, and if she suspected that he had stolen food from school, she would make him vomit it up, and sometimes even eat it. She didn’t even allow him to sleep in his own room. She relegated him to the garage. He would sleep on an old army cot with his hands tucked under his armpits. You see, The Mother did not allow him a blanket, so this is how he kept warm. If he was lucky, he would find a dirty rag to cover his feet.

It is here in this dark and dirty garage that David found refuge in books. His teachers at school had introduced him to reading. David used books as an escape from the harsh reality of his life and the ever-present Mother.

For eight years, David suffered at the hands of The Mother. For years the teachers witnessed the black and blue condition of his body. The final straw came when David came to school with no skin on his arms, after soaking them in chemicals his mother used as his punishment in the bathroom. They intervened. After a long battle, David entered the foster care system. There were ups and down; he took some time to adjust. Through it all though, he continued to read.

In his final foster home, his neighbour was a Vietnam War veteran. They befriended one another, and David would spend many afternoons perusing this man’s library. Over the years, he had built quite a collection of war and aviation books. The rules were David was not allowed to take the books home, but so voracious was his appetite for knowledge, that David would sneak back into his neighbour’s house after leaving for the day, grab a book, and return it early the next morning. He stayed up late into the night studying planes. It’s in these books, that David introduced himself to the SR-71 Blackbird. This is where the dream started.

After school, David got the right certificates and diplomas to enrol in the Air Force. The road was not easy, but he persevered and eventually became one of the privileged few who worked on the Blackbird project. During his life, he received personal commendation from three US presidents. He was also honoured as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA) and was the only American to be selected as one of the Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYPW), for his efforts involving child abuse awareness and prevention, as well as for instilling resilience in others.

Thad Roberts is the main character in Ben Mezrich’s latest book, Sex on the Moon. His dream is to be the first man to walk on Mars. The buzzword at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) now is Mars. Everybody is talking about Mars. In the 1960’s, it was all about the moon. The sixties culminated in man landing on the moon for the first time on July 20, 1969. To date, man has landed on the moon six times. Each time we collected moon rocks and various samples.

The beginning of Thad’s life was poles apart from NASA and space. His family was extremely religious. After Thad made what is really a small mistake (if one can even call it a mistake), his family banished him. Forced to fend for himself, Thad had to get a job to put himself through college.

When he reached the end of his diploma, Thad still didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. Fortunately, the university had an office where students could research possible careers. For hours, Thad sifted through files, from A to Z. He brushed through astronaut, thinking it was a pipe dream. When nothing else caught his eye, he started seriously considering becoming an astronaut. He read the file and documented what he needed to do. He continued his research off campus and decided that he would need to learn new languages and various skills, such as scuba diving. Self-funded, self-motivated and often on his own, he learned the skills he needed. Then he applied for a co-op position at the Johnson Space Center, which is a stepping-stone to working at NASA. The JSC accepted Thad before they even interviewed him.

Thad thrived at the JSC. He adapted quickly and was soon head of his social circles. Due to his genius level intelligence, his superiors also favoured him. He worked for a few years going from strength to strength. Unfortunately, this is where things took a bit of a wrong turn. Remember I spoke earlier about a lack of love being the root cause of many problems? Well, even though Thad had achieved so much, he still always felt like something was missing and that he wasn’t accepted. He hatched a plan to steal used moon rocks to impress his girlfriend. Moon rocks are extremely valuable but are illegal to own.

The caper went off without a hitch. However, Thad and his accomplices were caught while trying to sell their prize. Thad went to prison. Now, he could have given up and said my life is over. Instead, he investigated what courses were available for inmates. He realized that he was at a much higher level than anything offered, so he decided to teach an astronomy class to fellow convicts. In return for teaching the class, he didn’t ask for money. Instead, he asked that the students who left prison would please send him a physics textbook.

This is what he spent his time in prison doing: teaching others about the stars and the sky, reading physics textbooks and writing his own book. He left prison with his own seven-hundred-page manual about seeing the world in eleven dimensions. Now, don’t worry if you don’t know what that means. I don’t either. Through it all, Thad never lost sight of his dreams. He still plans to be the first man to walk on Mars. Much of this wouldn’t be happening without books.

Many may wonder why I chose to use three Americans as my examples, as opposed to our very famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela, whom I’ve quoted a few times. Well, other than my dichotomous admiration for America (anybody who wants to send me a plane ticket to the States, is more than welcome – hehe), most of us here, in South Africa, know the basic story of Mandela. He was incarcerated for 27 years, and then become the president of our country. Further to that though, I wanted you to realize just how many similarities there can be between the first world and us.

Earlier I spoke of that couple from England; the shock they felt knowing how few people here read. Well, if we want to compete on a global stage, if we want all the luxuries of the first world, then we need to do the things that people in the first world do: expand our minds. We can’t sit around and wait for everything to come to us.

Reading, along with other skills, can literally take you to Mars. However, you have to be the ones to get up, go to your libraries, and get books. You have to be the ones who take those books home and then read them.

To conclude I want to share another quote from Albert Einstein. Up until a little while ago, I never fully understood it. I hope that something I said will help you to understand it. The details are vague, but from what I can gather, Einstein said this to an anxious mother after she asked him how she could help her son to become a scientist,

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

Daniel Alexander

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