YOU may have noticed that my blog title and background seems oddly familiar, and appear to be an allusion.
Ray Bradbury's epic satire of technology(especially television) Fahrenheit 451, was set in a world were wrong seems right, which from my point of view, is just a mass exaggeration of the world we live in today. Words in Fahrenheit 451, firemen are meant to burn books, which according to the orthodox thinking, the source of unhappiness and conflict. By exterminating the "empty" books which offer nothing but trouble, firemen are committing noble deeds by making a better world.
In some ways, Beatty is right, books can be a source of trouble. Clarisse was seen as a source of trouble because she wanted to know why things are done and not how. But at school we learn about why all the time. In math, we have to proof an equation in order to use it. So, this made school painful for students. But on the other hand, if we don't learn why, which gets us thinking, the world would not be the same today. For example, in aancient China, the Imperial exam system was set up to elect able officials. But as time proceeds, the why in the books and the way to be a modest officials began to be forgotten by the examiness. What the majority of them do in the Xin dynasty, is just memorise the books. Yes, it saved trouble. The Xin didn't need to worry about the educated elite who oppose the government. But this also lead to the decline of Xin. With no one really bothering to find out why, no one gave any thoughts to the raising west. Eventually, evansion fomr the modern west shook China. And lead to the birth of the republic.
Burning books reduces trouble? I don't think so.
