Old Man Yells at Cloud: A Critical Analysis of Adam Garfinkle's "The Erosion of Deep Literacy"

 Old Man Yells at Cloud: A Critical Analysis of Adam Garfinkle's "The Erosion of Deep Literacy"

Dayna Wilson

Written for ENGL 1130 - 103 / Douglas College / Dr. Noelle Phillips

The way that people interact with the written word is changing, and not in a good way, according to Adam Garfinkle. The essay “The Erosion of Deep Literacy,” published in National Affairs in Spring 2020, is Garfinkle’s attempt to argue that the advent of technology has caused an irrevocable reduction in deep literacy, which Garfinkle defines as a meaningful engagement with a source beyond “decoding written symbols, writing one’s name, or making lists.” (2) The essay posits that this reduction is inevitably harmful to society, as Garfinkle attributes the advent of literacy to an array of benefits from self idealization to participation in political discourse. These broad and sweeping claims seem to be supported by little more than Garfinkle’s own clearly strong feelings on the matter, however. At best, the essay is built almost exclusively upon correlative supposition and weak arguments, while at worst it is outright ethnocentric and ableist. The lack of evidence supporting Garfinkle’s claims, as well as his clear emotional bias, serve to render his argument wholly ineffective.

            A primary flaw in Garfinkle’s article is that many of the conclusions he draws are based firmly on correlation rather than causation. Widespread literacy, he argues, is responsible for great advances in technology, in thought, and in politics. He fails to account for any possible third variables potentially at play: The advent of widespread literacy was also accompanied by increased cleanliness, more widespread social programs, and better medical care. It is easy to argue that any of those variables could also have contributed to societal advance, rather than literacy alone. Likewise, Garfinkle attempts to link an individual’s lack of deep reading with an “an attenuated capability to comprehend and use abstract reasoning” (3). However, no evidence is cited to suggest that this lack of deep reading is a direct causal factor of diminished abstract reasoning; it is just as likely that socio-economic factors such as a dearth of available literature, education, and idle time to read and learn play significant roles within the equation. A number of similarly bold unsupported claims are made throughout the essay. Lacking empirical evidence or scientific sources, however, Garfinkle’s arguments remain purely suppositious.           

            Beyond the evidentiary failings of the essay, Garfinkle’s privileged bias and lack of acknowledgement of perspectives beyond his own serve to further delegitimize his argument. The intellectually elitist and ableist nature of the essay is the most obvious example of this. “Mediated electronic interactions” Garfinkle claims, “create forms of what could be called acquired social autism.” (5) This claim intimates that not only is Autism a neurotype possible to be acquired, but that it is undesirable and that Autistics, by extension, are flawed. Many within the Autistic community would be offended by and argue fervently with this claim. Technology not only does not have the ability to “create” autism, but it has in fact allowed Autistics to better interact with a world not designed to cater to our neurotype, and facilitated the deep thought that Garfinkle believes is only attainable through deep literacy.

            Another telling example of the privileged ignorance in the article is the author’s consideration of the societal prevalence of deep literacy. It has not, in fact, been a cornerstone of all society throughout history, as Garfinkle claims. What deep literacy has been a cornerstone of is privileged society. Those who have the privilege of the intellectual capacity to engage with written word, the privilege of sight, of the money to afford literature to engage with, the free time to sit and read, and the neurotype to sit quietly and read without the mind wandering. Not all influential humans throughout history have had the fortune to have all markers of privilege line up so that they are able to engage in the deep literacy that Garfinkle believes is so important to the development of society, and yet society still developed. Politics continued to evolve, technology continued to be invented. By failing to acknowledge this fact, Garfinkle’s argument lacks holistic consideration and is rendered ineffective.

            One final flaw in the article is the ethnocentricity apparent in the argument that deep literacy is the only way of meaningful historical recording, or of inter-generational communication. This claim is extremely dismissive of Indigenous cultures and other non-Western oral traditions passed down from generation to generation. These stories inspire rich engagement in one’s culture, and are influenced by speech patterns, facial expressions, and body language, none of which can be communicated through word alone. The claim that written history is somehow superior to oral history is not only inaccurate and near-sighted, it is completely culturally insensitive.

            Adam Garfinkle certainly appears to have some strong opinions on the subject of literacy and the form it takes in modern society. His concerns may have some validity, but are difficult to take seriously when obscured by hyperbole and doomsaying. Without an objective, evidence-based consideration of those concerns, he simply comes off, in the internet vernacular, as an “old man yelling at clouds.”


 

Works Cited

Garfinkle, Adam. 2020. “The Erosion of Deep Literacy.” National Affairs, Spring 2020.

https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-erosion-of-deep-literacy

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