IT’S a little disturbing to live long enough to see fictional dystopias become reality. Take Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 — published in 1953 — which depicts a world in which books are outlawed and specially designated ‘firemen’ are tasked with destroying these offending objects wherever they are found.

The soulless world imagined by Bradbury didn’t take shape overnight; as society became more and more fast-paced, people began to prefer their entertainment to be as shallow as possible, which led to wall-sized interactive televisions in every home constantly broadcasting bright and chaotic programming for people to numb themselves with. People wore tiny wireless ‘seashell’ earbuds streaming a constant “electronic ocean of sound” into their ears, even while asleep, effectively drowning out the world and any need for actual human interaction. What social activities remained were vapid and violent; there were places where you could go and engage in wanton destruction with full social sanction.

As for schools, they were now meant only to produce “runner, jumpers [and] racers” and not thinkers. Naturally, subjects like history and philosophy were no longer needed. Independent thought was tedious and troubling and so was done........

© Dawn