Jan Guillou, a famous Swedish journalist and author, said the other day in an interview that he starts each day by reading several newspapers including a leading business newspaper (Dagens Industri = Daily Industry). Being a staunch socialist Jan felt compelled to explain that he wants to keep an eye on the opposition.
I like to read and I read lots of books, but I am generally selective about what I read. There is just not enough time to read everything so you have to choose. My selection process is not very sophisticated. There is a big risk that I choose to read things that just strengthen what I already believe. If I ever do read something that opposes my firmly held beliefs it is more likely than not that I won’t read it with an open mind. I will probably just look for weaknesses and counter-arguments. Sometimes I wonder what value people like Jan Guillou and I add to society when we stop thinking critically and just propagate the same old ideologies, religions or pet peeves we always have.
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