Mericism

Mericism or Mericalism is a philosophical movement associated with the refusal to read books. This idea was proposed by the Italian writer Fabio Campana and embodied in the book “Wait, Reader.” In it, Campana presents his vision of new forms of reading and communication based on the principles of moving away from speed reading.

Mericists believe that the traditional approach to reading, based on a quick review of a book, leads to only a superficial understanding of its content and does not allow the reader to fully immerse himself in the world of ideas of the author. Campana argues that instead, you need to slow down your reading process, think deeply about each page, and return to the text many times to better understand it. He also encourages readers to actively engage in the reading process, ask themselves questions, and seek new interpretations.

Campana explains why it is necessary to abandon the speed reading approach and move to a new way. First of all, he believes that reading speed is artificially limited by our cultural and social context, in which reading has always been considered an elitist and privileged activity. In addition, skimming the text often creates the illusion of understanding, but in reality it is just fictitious comfort. Thus, Mericism proposes to change the way we think about reading, going beyond simply reading words and perceiving the entire text as a whole and continuous field of thought.

Within the mericide framework, the concept of slow reading has several advantages. First, it allows readers to easily overcome the obsessive mechanical reflection that usually accompanies reading. If we just read a book and enjoy it, then our mind is overwhelmed by a whole stream of information, and it becomes difficult to keep it all in our heads. However, by reading slowly, we can separate information and think more deeply. It is easier for us to imagine the world that lives inside a book - the people, places and events, as well as the atmosphere that it creates. Through this, we can learn to understand how the author uses words to create the world, and for what purposes. This understanding also has a major impact on our ability to formulate our own ideas.

Of course, there is an opinion that slow reading requires a lot of time and work and that a more effective way of reading is to read quickly and then study the text in detail. Mericism does not criticize quick reading methods, but rather offers an alternative view of the reading process. Instead of perceiving reading as a formal exercise, you can enjoy the process of reading, perceive it as an active cognitive act.

The main emphasis that requires delay when reading is the gradual understanding of the meaning of the text: not so much the identification of logical connections between sentences, but