Veríssimo, readings, etc.

A good charge by Luis Fernando Veríssimo was published in the Brazilian newspaper “O Estado de S. Paulo" on Sunday, September 13, 2015, and titled "The Brazil Family".  In it, a father-in-law, talking to his son-in-law, tries to convince him that the printed book is still better than the eBook: — "A book does not need a power source, does not depend on softwares or passwords, and is always ready to be read anytime... “— when the young man interrupts him: —”So where is the fun in that?"

The "fun" in this new technology lies in the fast manipulation of a sophisticated and colorful “toy”. The content of the information does not matter as much as the sentences being very short, thus excusing any critical reflection from the toy’s owner.

I think the writer Luis Fernando Veríssimo is one of the most lucid thinking heads of Brazil. He is worshiped by his readers, as well as being a great character.  I have never read or heard anyone criticizing him - he is a national unanimity. From what I have read in the media, at one point he was even sought out to occupy a chair at the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL). However, in his authentic modesty, Veríssimo gently thanked being remembered by the Academy but declined the honor. He allegedly said that the ABL would not be his "turf".

I believe he refused the aforementioned honor because as an academic — it is certain he would have been elected — his naturally playful and irreverent spirit would be somewhat inhibited and would not fit seamlessly with the seriousness of the Academy. Such refusal is something rare in Brazil - many people would pay a lot of money to become an academic "immortal", if it was possible to pay to be bestowed with such a privilege.

Writers or actors who are comically inclined tend to see people and the world as more comical. Their associations of ideas tend almost automatically to the caricature expressed in words. With such preference it is only natural they occupy most of their time of rest reading comical texts, which then pile up in their subconscious, just waiting for a provocation. 

With this natural inclination to the continuous mental "record" of news and amusing facts, there can be only one result: the interpretation of the world as a vast "comedy".  As it indeed is, in a philosophical view of our civilization, at the same time advanced in technology but tragically ridiculous in human coexistence: wars and more wars, theft and more theft, crimes and more crimes, lies and hypocrisy at all levels. Balzac knew what he was doing when he chose "The human comedy" as a title for one of his works.

I have a personal example about preferred choices of certain readings. Concluding that the knowledge of the English language would increase my general culture – something that has always attracted me much more than the Science of the Law - I decided, when I was already a sixty-year-old retired judge, to learn English through the most pleasant method: reading jokes and anecdotes in this language, with the help of a dictionary. I must have read over 1,000 jokes. I achieved my language goal, i.e., being able to read in English, despite not having the same talent for speaking the language due to the lack of practice. Nevertheless, a corner of my mind was permanently "contaminated" by the mischievous virus of comedy.

As the time passed – and it still does - the following phenomenon occurred: every time I talk to someone, even about serious matters, whenever I hear a fact, word or sentence which reminds me of an especially clever or nonsensical joke, the uncalled for remembrance makes me miss some seconds of whatever my interlocutor is saying. That, of course, forces me to try to fill the missing gaps with conjectures about what the person might have said – something that distracts me even more and forces me to ask him or her to please repeat what they have just said. In these occasions, I usually pretend to be a little bit deaf, or else very worried about some other serious private subject, as I naturally cannot say that the disease of his mother-in-law (which he has just reported to be in a very mournful mood) reminded me of a great joke of mothers-in-law.

Nobody has complete control over his own mind. We can control our tongue brake, our fingers on the keyboard, our hand using a pen, but never the spontaneous flow of ideas. I guess after this confession I will never be able to ask anyone to repeat something to me in a conversation, as now that the truth has been revealed my interlocutor may very well reply, annoyed - "Was the joke at least good?"

 Veríssimo, as well as being very clever, has a fantastic supply of general information in at least two languages, English and Portuguese (I dare say he is fluent in Spanish and French too). Therefore, he is able to arrange with superior ingenuity his huge mass of scattered information, which is just lying there, waiting for connections. When he was very young, he lived in the USA, which has enabled him to be at ease in the most loaded with information language in the world.

There are currently more Chinese people speaking English than Americans speaking their own language — an amazing fact which is explained by the enormous population of China. Neither Mandarin nor Cantonese combined can provide the same volume of knowledge as the English language can.

The only (and dangerous) restriction I can make regarding the aforementioned writer — "one should not play with fire" — is the fact that he is a huge jazz enthusiast. As someone who knows almost nothing about jazz, I wonder if jazz is by any chance the equivalent of modern art, in which the painter does not need to know how to draw. I guess I should buy a jazz CD - if there are any available — in order to try to understand his enthusiasm for that apparently very messy sound.

Anyway, the comedy of Veríssimo is not only intelligent: it also never resorts to vulgarity. I stress that fact because the humor or style of a comic may sometimes, despite showing great levels of intelligence, have a flaw: a steady abuse of swear words and sexual descriptions, which may offend more sensitive ears, especially those of women.

A lady at a party shall, out of mere politeness, hear the first verbal atrocities and then depart as soon as possible, claiming some urgent matters. In these cases, they usually do not even wait for the end of the anecdote, which may be clever but is hindered by the generic stench of the subject. Therefore, due to the vulgarity of the joke she may lose the thread of narrative and its surprising (and perhaps smart) conclusion.

This limitation of the humorist who is almost exclusively pornographic is perhaps due to a limited supply of information. He lacks a stock of "good material", a supply large enough to extract the sparse "gold" out of the best humor. Such comic will have, of course, an audience, usually restricted to men of calloused noses. Such comedians would of course never be invited to join the ABL - or any other academy of the most remote town, for that matter.

Why am I agreeing with Veríssimo? Because his charge reveals that the computer technology is not, in fact, helping much to enhance the culture and sensibility of our people, Brazilian people.

 Especially the youngsters who — shaped by advertising — are more interested in consuming goods and services, attending nightclubs, dressing well and watching soccer. Not even playing soccer, but most of the time only roaring, swearing and shouting names. Not to mention the constant clashes among football supporters, using slats and iron bars. Not to mention the terrible spectacle of teenage girls rolling on the floor — the uglier girl always fiercer than the prettier one —, contending lovers with fisticuffs, nail scratching and tug of hair.

Many young people are certainly disgusted with their disadvantages and the bad economic situation they inherited — especially when compared to the "spoiled rich brats".  Hence, they do not have great hopes for their future through study, which is rarely free when of good quality.

Notwithstanding my flourished writing, I guess if I were a Brazilian teenager nowadays I would think something like the following: — "Life is too short. Jobs are rare and very disputed, even those with very low wages. Stray bullets are as common in the air as killer wasps. Schools are boring, they take years to teach us things that will not give us money and we waste a long time in transit to and from school. What "helps" a little bit is when there is a teacher´s strike, but then it always results in a worse punishment: the compensation of classes during the holiday season".

“Studying and working is such a burden… Attending schools is no longer the path to real “success”.  Just see our former president, a man who does not like to read, had no proper education and, despite all that, became a "doctor honoris causa", fawned over in several European universities. Plus, the final touch in his triumph: the media says he is now a millionaire. After leaving the office of president, he now gives advice to economists with a Harvard doctorate. So why should I spend time listening to lessons that bear no interest to me at all? I know a guy who patiently studied Law but failed the BAR exam five or six times. That possible future lawyer is already thinking of giving up - he has tried to be a taxi driver but not yet succeeded, due the lack of money to buy a license, or something like that.”

My younger and pessimistic philosophizing version would continue:

 — "Did Airton Senna, the Formula One champion, study? No! Has the great soccer player Neymar studied? Also no! If Senna had studied, he might still be alive today, but without the glories he had. Earning now very little money – worst-case scenario, using his driving abilities to deliver pizzas. Neymar, dribbling and kicking, has won the equivalent to several Nobel Prizes — the money part — and that´s only in a month. Furthermore, I must confess: it is very hard for me to concentrate when I have to read something more complicated or too long. I abhor books. Maybe I am too restless. The fact is I cannot concentrate on reading. I know I am not stupid, just practical. Something, in my sight or in my brain, gets me confused and keeps me away from reading more complex subjects”.

After “hearing” the last confession, or catharsis, of the hypothetical Brazilian lad, I would like to suggest, now to the Brazilian legislator some ideas in order to try to increase the interest of the youth in reading more and better.

As this article is already too long, I will be concise from now on, without the previous rambling way of dubious taste or convenience. I do this concisely, forced by the need of brevity in the internet.

In short, I would suggest the following:

1) that the Brazilian Congress publishes a law that allows self-taught people — or people who are educated in private, of any age — to prove they have the knowledge required from all students of the same level and who have studied in schools;

2) that the Government, at all levels, encourages and facilitates to young people with limited resources the treatment at the public health network of any kind of health problem, whether it is visual, hearing or glandular, that might hinder their learning ability (e.g., a lazy thyroid slows down mental processes);

3) if the young people, even technically cured of any physical problems, still reveal difficulties in understanding texts compatible with their level of knowledge, they shall be sent to specialized professionals in learning problems. This is the solution to the so-called functional illiteracy, very common in the world, chiefly in developing countries. 

Let me give you, reader, an example: if someone can read the words of a line with his left eye, but with the right eye he sees "blurry" words  (even with corrective glasses), this inequality of vision — including peripheral — hinders the understanding of what is being read. Thinking this difficulty is related to a lack of intelligence, the person might abandon the book and instead do something else, doubting his own capacity.

 He does not realize that his "lack of concentration" or understanding has its origin in the "bad association" of his left and right eyes. However, there is a very simple "trick" to overcome such problem. If the person uses his good eye — the left one — to take a glance at the right side of the page, or line, before actually reading it, this “glance” will allow him a better comprehension of the text. If the difficulty persists, another glance can be done, without properly reading. By alternating between reading and “glancing”, the person´s peripheral vision shall be improved. Just a little trick which can be useful in special situations. An optometrist, explained to me that when a patient loses an eye in an accident he is instructed to overcome the lack of it by training his other eye, and with time he might be able to read just as well as other readers.

I shall stop here. I admit I am forcing myself to do so. After all the internet is the place of brevity, so I had to cut and file reasonable dissertations about readings, intelligence, politics and related matters. At the end of the day, all questions in this crazy planet are correlated, even if remotely. Perhaps what I have kept on the computer for use in some other occasion is more interesting than what I´ve used here. We shall see. 

 (September 24, 2015)