We may say that we desire search for knowledge, but do we? We certainly feel better with knowledge, yet often you find people take quick short cuts, being either too lazy to fact-check or having to much source in people they have never met. This is clearly evident in the Story Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. In the story, technology has taken over the world, and physical commodities like books are banned. Although most people don't realize it, the fact that their thirst for knowledge, or cognition, is quenched with stories that are only paper thin when it comes to discussing some of the very philosophical questions that we need to face in our life to keep going. This is why suicide is such a huge problem in this world that "we had this special machine built"(Bradbury pg 13) to deal with them. What is the point of living if all you do is sit around watching a screen do what ever you want, instead of satisfying some of your highest and very-human needs like philosophy.
This is the world that Guy lives in. Instead of taking the easy lies and propaganda of paper thin entertainment in mindless parlors, he decides to reach for an ancient form of technology that knows more about universal human truths, than even the modern programs do. And for reaching out for books, he is punished. He is seen as mindless and a heretic. The very act of working hard, as he did, to discover himself caused him to be seen as a criminal in the world that he grew up in. They wanted to track him down so much so, that they flew in a mechanical sniffing dog from another fire station to track him down, for the entertainment of the audience of course(Bradbury pg 128). In the end, the world without humanity or knowledge, drove itself to a hard nuclear war. This war killed millions of people and caused the suffering of many more. Some people don't even have their parlors anymore, losing even their facade. Perhaps now, being forced from their lie, they may also be forced to find their knowledge in books.
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