Where did the meme of "Reading is an inherently good / intellectual / self-improving thing" come from?

Where did the meme of "Reading is an inherently good / intellectual / self-improving thing" come from?
Have you ever been to a bookstore? 90% of everything is just garbage.
Shouldn't the only thing that matters be WHAT you've read, not just how much you read?

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>Reading is an inherently good / intellectual / self-improving thing
Self-congratulatory meme invented by people who read, obviously. Not that isn't true, but people whose only source of intellectual material is philosophy and fiction are generally retarded.

It's a hangover from when reading was solely for the elite and most people weren't even literate

It comes from authors and publishing houses. They need to sell books and invented it.
That's all.

If you go back 100+ years reading stuff that wasn't meaningful was seen as a huge waste of time. Now, the alternative is TV so at the very least, reading trash is better.

What other sources are there, except just experience in general

Science, newspapers, history

>newspapers
reading newspapers in 2017
you are the massive faggot here buddy not I

Oh, I guess. Still all of them are the same reading.

There are still good newspapers/publications, you're just a fag.
"Reading" and "studying" are very different things.

Source?

>Shouldn't the only thing that matters be WHAT you've read, not just how much you read?
yes, but teachers/professors like to spread the meme that BOOKS IS GOOD, YOU CAN READ WHATEVER YOU WANT AND YOU IS SMART, GOOD STUDENT FOR DOING THE READ.
I too enjoy reading garbage occasionally but I hate it that people try to make it seem like just because you read that means you're SO SMART.
I had one friend who was praised by her friends for reading even though all she read was trash YA romance

>90% of everything is just garbage.
welcome to the pareto principle.

why is Veeky Forums full of edgy freshmen?

Well, reading IS good for your concentration and memory abilities, no matter what you're reading. But beyond that, nah.

Sure it can't all be great art, but reading has been shown to correlate strongly with things like developing theory of mind and abstract thinking skills.
It's like when people say the best workout is the one you'll actually do

youtu.be/7Kv_z6H0bmA

Source for what?

what are your thoughts on Schopenhauer and Thoreau's view on history and the news?

>90% of everything is just garbage
Maybe you're going to the wrong bookstores?

>T-there are still good newspapers/publications, y-you're just a fag.

this t.bh, I literally can't find a news site that will simply give relevant and recent information on the world and my country. It's all propaganda and framed like entertainment media (devoid of depth, designed with spectacle and emotion in mind).