[scythe]

You know what happens at the end of The Boy Who Cried "Wolf!"? There's actually a wolf.

It's fine to point out that just because some people say a thing doesn't mean it's happening, but you can't go all the way in the other direction and conclude that there are no wolves. You instead have to move towards a better way of measuring the problem.

Books, photos, silent videography and lo-fi audio never reached the point of being confused with reality. It was only with stereo and talking films that we started to see media start to threaten the reality–fantasy barrier theretofore robust in the mind. The fact that something like a jump scare works in movies but not in books shows a meaningful difference between kinds of media. Pornography overuse syndrome affects sexual function but I've never heard of a situation where this happened with mere erotica. Reality-mimicking media can produce immediate physiological responses where previous forms of entertainment required the active participation of the consumer.

Also, Plato quoted Socrates complaining about writing. I assume he didn't believe this himself (although he was known to sometimes put his beliefs in Socrates's mouth) or he probably wouldn't have written so many books.

[ketzo]

> You know what happens at the end of The Boy Who Cried "Wolf!"? There's actually a wolf.

Dang, that’s a great little turn of phrase. And a very good point.