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by AlanYx 1694 days ago
>It strikes me that one advantage of the written word is that the information density is so much higher than in other mediums.

This is true, but it also goes beyond density. Long-form written works tend to have more room for breadth, depth and nuance. I find that's where much of the value sometimes comes from, e.g., I didn't get anything much out of the main text of the last non-fiction book I read, but three of the footnotes introduced me to other sources that did turn out to be useful for my work.
2 comments
kmtrowbr 1694 days ago
The brain is wired with language. Our inner monologues are most commonly speaking to ourselves using words. Reading is similar to meditation in that it's about YOU controlling your thoughts, putting focus into what you're reading. Additionally, the content is the result of a process: some form of author qualification, editing, formatting, publication took place. It's also intimate: just the author and you (although, this is not necessarily true). But on the whole I suspect there's more integrity on the printed page, less "big money" certainly. In summary, there are lots of reasons why reading deserves a privileged place.

However, if you want to learn something, you gotta go at it from every direction: maybe first of all just try head on, try & fail. Then read books if available, of course, but search online, look for YouTube videos, seek out mentors, and so on. Just like everything else you can only read effectively for so many hours per day.

In the end I can only really speak for myself: reading books feels TO ME like one of the best possible uses of time. You would have to pry the books out of my cold dead hands, etc. So just out of fellow feeling I try to encourage others to read more. But whatever works for you!

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npsimons 1694 days ago
> Long-form written works tend to have more room for breadth, depth and nuance. I find that's where much of the value sometimes comes from, e.g., I didn't get anything much out of the main text of the last non-fiction book I read, but three of the footnotes introduced me to other sources that did turn out to be useful for my work.

All of this is why I strongly favor reading. Well written books are just so worth sinking the time into, and then you have references/bibliographies. Yeah, you need to do something instead of "reading all the time" (stramwan from the article), but sometimes doing it correctly, or even just better, starts with a good book.

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