[AlexandrB]

> Do people really just go around reading large blocks of random text they find on the internet hoping they'll find it interesting?

Yes. That's why I'm on substack. Good writing can be a pleasure to read even if it's about something I don't care all that much about. A summary can tell you about the subject matter, but fails to capture the quality of the writing itself.

To put it another way: I'd rather read an idlewords post about taking a Russian boat to the Antarctic[1] - something I care little about as a subject - than read AI generated slop about some Python programming subject that's immediately relevant to my career.

[1] https://idlewords.com/2016/10/cape_adare.htm

[alexanderdmitri]

This was an enjoyable read, thank you!

[analogpixel]

I guess you are not alone in wanting to fill you mind with random bits of nothing; https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48269580 <-- here is an article voted up that is just a list of random host names with no context to anything else.

[convolvatron]

I have seen an a stunningly large amount of anti-intellectualism on HN recently, but suggesting that writing as whole has no more value than a random list of words has to be really quite up there

[analogpixel]

The post with the random hostnames was ranked higher than this post of "intelligently meaningful words", so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

also taking: "suggesting that writing as whole has no more value than a random list of words" from me just saying it'd be nice to know what I was reading before I spent the time reading it seems kind of melodramatic.

[kelnos]

"Ranked higher on HN" has very little to do with something's worth.