Hello, lovelies! Today's question is brought to us by Lisa, one of the coolest mom's in the history of Mom-dom. I always like to post pictures (often scandalous) of my Question Askers, and I had to dig really deep to find a good, embarrassing one of Lisa. She's going to be horrified. Check it out!
Lisa asked the following questions:
1) Are bibliophiles born or made?
2) Nature or nurture?
Wonderful question, Lisa! And who better than a Creative Writing Major to answer such a conundrum?
1) Let's get the easy one out of the way first. Bibliophiles, or, as they are known to philistines, "NERDS," are both born and made. The only difference lies in being birthed vs. being test-tubed. Either way, I believe it is true that one must certainly exist to be considered a book lover or not. I have never met a non-existent person who believed otherwise.
2) Now for the fun question. Does a book lover become so due to his nature (innate qualities) or due to his nurturing (personal experiences)? The answer is, no doubt, the former; both written and oral language is a man-made creation which can only be interpreted and understood through environmental experiences, such as being spoken to, read to, or a crazy hybrid of the two.
"But, Steeeeeeve," one may whine, "I know someone who taught himself to read when he was, like, 3 years old! No one ever helped him and now he's a total bibliophile! Doesn't that prove nature can win over nurture?"
NO. IT DOES NOT. While I have heard this story myself, people do not take into account such factors as being spoken to as a baby and being read to while a toddler. Try to imagine this: a deaf baby of any background is born and placed instantaneously into a life-sustaining room with nothing in it but picture-less chapter books from around the world. How could this child, who is living in a socially vacuous environment, possibly have the ability to teach himself how to speak an existent language, let alone teach himself how to read a language without pictures to act as clues? It would be an impossibility. Children are brought up in a world of constant communication, whether it be the soft cooing of a mother, the non-verbal cues of a perplexed father staring at a full diaper, or the physical cues of an older sibling solidifying his dominance over the foreign invader. This constant interaction with communication - from wake to sleep - habituates the child to the language he will use the rest of his life. This long act of nurturing allows one to grow and ultimately decide: will I be a bibliophile or a philistine? Without the nurturing, there is no innate decision.
On another note, I think all of you should check out this site - book lover or not - and see what it gives you. It's pretty darn cool.
Stay tuned! The next question is for anyone who loves badgers and packers!
Agree:Children are brought up in a world of constant communication, whether it be the soft cooing of a mother, the non-verbal cues of a perplexed father staring at a full diaper, or the physical cues of an older sibling solidifying his dominance over the foreign invader. This constant interaction with communication - from wake to sleep - habituates the child to the language he will use the rest of his life. This long act of nurturing allows one to grow and ultimately decide: will I be a bibliophile or a philistine? Without the nurturing, there is no innate decision.
ReplyDeleteDisagree: Lisa is the coolest mom in mom-dom. Just ask Molly. I am the Queen of mixed metaphors and malapropisms. I also am the recipient of endless family ribbing. Not cool. By the way, I couldn't find the compromising picture you found of me! Aaargh.