Why make friends with people who read a lot? Because the greatest value of reading is not to increase knowledge, but to reduce bias. The more of the world a person has seen, the less they will mistake their own experiences for the whole world. They know that every viewpoint has its boundaries, and every position has its premises. So when disagreements arise, they are more willing to understand than to argue about who is right or wrong; when problems occur, they are more willing to seek solutions than to assign blame. Books that are truly read deeply never change memory, but rather the way a person understands the world.