Monday, June 27, 2005
Indians are the biggest nerds
Yes, it's been confirmed that Indians are the world's biggest readers. Apparently, Indians spend an average 10.7 hours per week reading books, almost twice as much as the average American.
The NOP World Culture Score index surveyed 30,000 people in 30 countries from December 2004 to February 2005. Analysts said self-help and aspirational reading could explain India's high figures. Time spent on reading meant fewer hours watching TV and listening to the radio - India came fourth last in both. The NOP survey of 30,000 consumers aged over 13 saw China and the Philippines take second and third place respectively in average hours a week spent reading books, newspapers and magazines. Britons and Americans scored about half the Indians' hours and Japanese and Koreans were even lower - at 4.1 and 3.1 hours respectively.
I will not bother with asking what sort of methodology was used to arrive at this amazing conclusion. I just suspect there's a very large urban bias (perhaps even metropolitan bias) in the sample that's been surveyed. India has a literacy rate of 65% and even that level (of mostly functional literacy) does not necessarily translate into the ability to read books, newspapers and magazines. So, yes subject to the caveat that this survey methodology does not account for about 700 million Indians, it's probably pretty accurate.
Talking about Indians and books though, The Economist reviewed Amartya Sen's upcoming book, The Argumentative Indian, in its last issue.
A collection of essays, lectures and articles written over the past decade, “The Argumentative Indian” reveals the scope of Mr Sen's interests. These extend far beyond the work that won him the Nobel, notably his investigation into the causes of famines, and his elaboration of social-choice theory. The 16 chapters range from an appreciation of Rabindranath Tagore, a great poet of Mr Sen's native Bengal, to an examination of the historic intellectual links between India and China, to a discussion of India's wealth of sophisticated calendars.
Mr Sen has done more than most authors of such anthologies to turn this into a coherent book rather than a random miscellany. It does not avoid all repetition, overlap and incongruity. But it does offer a variety of perspectives that illuminate a central theme: that India has a long and noble argumentative tradition, and that this is worth celebrating. Heterodoxy is, he claims, its natural state.
This seems obvious, as do his memorable opening sentences: “Prolixity is not alien to us in India. We are able to talk at some length.” But the squabbling is often seen as a drawback. India's inability to shut up slows decision-making and seems to condemn the country to a slower march out of poverty than the rush under way in neighbouring China. However, Mr Sen shows that the argumentative gene is not just a part of India's make-up that cannot be wished away. It is an essential part of its survival—and an advantage.
It's not available in the U.S. yet, but it sure looks very, very interesting. Read the complete review, if you can.
The NOP World Culture Score index surveyed 30,000 people in 30 countries from December 2004 to February 2005. Analysts said self-help and aspirational reading could explain India's high figures. Time spent on reading meant fewer hours watching TV and listening to the radio - India came fourth last in both. The NOP survey of 30,000 consumers aged over 13 saw China and the Philippines take second and third place respectively in average hours a week spent reading books, newspapers and magazines. Britons and Americans scored about half the Indians' hours and Japanese and Koreans were even lower - at 4.1 and 3.1 hours respectively.
I will not bother with asking what sort of methodology was used to arrive at this amazing conclusion. I just suspect there's a very large urban bias (perhaps even metropolitan bias) in the sample that's been surveyed. India has a literacy rate of 65% and even that level (of mostly functional literacy) does not necessarily translate into the ability to read books, newspapers and magazines. So, yes subject to the caveat that this survey methodology does not account for about 700 million Indians, it's probably pretty accurate.
Talking about Indians and books though, The Economist reviewed Amartya Sen's upcoming book, The Argumentative Indian, in its last issue.
A collection of essays, lectures and articles written over the past decade, “The Argumentative Indian” reveals the scope of Mr Sen's interests. These extend far beyond the work that won him the Nobel, notably his investigation into the causes of famines, and his elaboration of social-choice theory. The 16 chapters range from an appreciation of Rabindranath Tagore, a great poet of Mr Sen's native Bengal, to an examination of the historic intellectual links between India and China, to a discussion of India's wealth of sophisticated calendars.
Mr Sen has done more than most authors of such anthologies to turn this into a coherent book rather than a random miscellany. It does not avoid all repetition, overlap and incongruity. But it does offer a variety of perspectives that illuminate a central theme: that India has a long and noble argumentative tradition, and that this is worth celebrating. Heterodoxy is, he claims, its natural state.
This seems obvious, as do his memorable opening sentences: “Prolixity is not alien to us in India. We are able to talk at some length.” But the squabbling is often seen as a drawback. India's inability to shut up slows decision-making and seems to condemn the country to a slower march out of poverty than the rush under way in neighbouring China. However, Mr Sen shows that the argumentative gene is not just a part of India's make-up that cannot be wished away. It is an essential part of its survival—and an advantage.
It's not available in the U.S. yet, but it sure looks very, very interesting. Read the complete review, if you can.
