Ruby Street

“no-one knows what is going on” words to that effect figures stocktaking expertise shaking heads we are un- certain that is what is going on

There will be a lot of debate for some time to come about the recent recommendation from the Productivity Commission to lift restrictions on parallel importation of books into Australia. Will such a move actually make books cheaper, or is it the death knell of Australian literature as-we-know-it? I won't rehearse it all here ... .... but: who isn't a little bemused, if not disturbed, to read the following from Chapter Six of the Commission's report: "Specifically, the consumption of culturally valuable books, and the ideas they contain, can help diffuse social norms. Where more people come to understand the unwritten rules of a society, their actions become more predictable or ‘trustable’ to others, facilitating social and economic exchanges. Further, as more people read works that reveal and effectively promote aspects of group identity, other members of the group may benefit insofar as the effective membership of the group is widened. More generally, the reading of ...

senses more than one

a bit of a glitch - body and machine