A funny thing happened with a Freshman humanities class at Harvard. So many first-year students wanted to take it that 180 applied for just 90 spots. What made this class so popular? According to The Wall Street Journal, it requires a lot of outside classwork. There are long lectures. Students are assigned a book a week for required reading. The reading list includes The Odyssey, Ulysses, works by Shakespeare, Dante, and Plato.
So why the fuss? Some speculate the students are rebelling against AI. They want to invest themselves in work where they have control. By reading, they get to connect with the great minds of the past. They can critique. They can agree. They can disagree. But the thinking is not done for them. They do the thinking themselves.
I hope this trend keeps going. What a rebellion! People choosing to read instead of letting AI do it for them. I’m not against technology. I use AI for research, and I even use Grammarly to check my writing. Still, I read a lot, and I believe in the value of reading. If you’re not reading, I encourage you to start. I know good people who don’t like to read, and while I don’t think it harms them, they are missing out on a lot.
Here’s what they’re missing out on:
1. If you have a good book, you always have a friend. As an only child for many years, I learned to handle long hours alone by reading. Reading opened my mind to new ideas and introduced me to new concepts. It also helped me question and balance my own thoughts and beliefs.
2. Reading boosts your imagination. Imagination is a vital element of being human. The Bible is one of the first written works to use imagination, encouraging readers to think deeply. For example, the book of Revelation shows how imagination helps express complex beliefs and abstract ideas.Furthermore, imagination leads to creativity. That worked out well when God created the world. And name a painter or songwriter whose creative work isn’t powered by the pump of imagination.
3. Reading can inspire you. I read The Wall Street Journal every day, and reading this article made me want to write about it. As I mentioned earlier, reading about this class fired my imagination and led me to write this post. Good reading can do that for you.
4. Reading informs you. Besides The Wall Street Journal, I read The New York Times every day and our local Tyler paper. I subscribe to Apple News, The Free Press, and The Daily Wire. As you can see, I read sources from both sides of the political spectrum. Even though I’m conservative and traditional, my reading probably skews left. I know my own views, but I want to be challenged. That’s why I value reading opinions that are different from mine.
5. Reading can help us grow. I’ve learned how to be a better husband, father, and Christian through reading, especially the Bible. I’ve also improved at business and found entertainment through books.
If you don’t like to read with a book in hand or a Kindle on your smartphone or device, consider audiobooks. I have a lifelong friend who never used to read, even though he was smart and active. For the past 20 years, his job has kept him on the road for thousands of hours, so he started listening to audiobooks. This opened up new worlds for him. He’s listened to literary classics, practical books, and stories for fun. Twice, he listened to Lonesome Dove while driving through the same region as the novel’s setting. I say he’s read these books, even though he listened, because I believe audiobooks count as reading. He learned about the Manhattan Project and even visited the historical site in Washington state. He read about Woodrow Wilson and visited his presidential library. He learned about Roman Catholic missionaries who built remote churches in the western U.S. and visited some of those churches. I think he’s more well-read than many of his high school classmates, even some valedictorians. Why? Because he kept learning, and they were satisfied with where they were at age 18. He grew. They remained mentally in place.
Someone might say, “But Mark, with AI and the Internet, I have access to all the world’s knowledge and history in seconds.”
But here’s the difference. It’s like when I started learning Spanish. I memorized vocabulary and grammar rules, but when I moved to South America, I couldn’t really speak the language. My knowledge was just a list of words and rules with no genuine connection. It wasn’t until I started having real conversations that I learned to think in Spanish. Reading was a big part of that process. The Internet and AI are great for research, but reading helps you truly learn and internalize knowledge.
Grow.
Learn.
Imagine.
Enjoy.
Read.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading.
Mark
Dr. Mark Edge
The WorkEdge Company
Telephone: 903-245-7851
Email: workedgetexas@gmail.com
Website: www.workedgetexas.com
Author of Holy Chaos How To Walk with God in a Frenzied World
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mark+edge&crid=3B1BM6W3LHOG0&sprefix=%2Caps%2C137&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_2_0_recent
For further reading, see Pameal Paul, “The Brutal Harvard Class That Suddenly Everyone Wants to Take,” The Wall Street Journal, October 27, 2026 https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/harvard-class-humanities-32e06366
WorkEdge leverages Grammarly as a resource. While this material was not written or generated by AI, some editing was informed by Grammarly.