I'm actually curious as to how many HN users find The New Yorker useful or insightful. It's always struck me as rather middlebrow and perhaps couched in the would-be-elitism of the east coast.
Most of my reading and thinking since childhood has been around technology. The New Yorker is, for me, a gentle tour around "the arts" as I have no education in that area (hence 'highbrow' art/literary writing goes right over my head).
It's like a conversation with an older, smarter, slightly pretentious friend who went off to theater school while you stayed up writing code all night.
The web is full of snack-size bites of information, but lacks context. The New Yorker (and The Economist) are great for providing deeper insight and creating links between stories, or leading you to thoughts that you wouldn't normally have clicking hundreds of links on Google News, HNN, HuffPo, TechCrunch etc.
It's good to read as much as you can, especially things that are outside your normal horizons.
Middlebrow is precisely what it aspires to be. It's not a scholarly (highbrow) publication. It's not USA Today (lowbrow). It executes specific conventions capably and asks only that inexpert readers concentrate and enjoy.
It's like a conversation with an older, smarter, slightly pretentious friend who went off to theater school while you stayed up writing code all night.
The web is full of snack-size bites of information, but lacks context. The New Yorker (and The Economist) are great for providing deeper insight and creating links between stories, or leading you to thoughts that you wouldn't normally have clicking hundreds of links on Google News, HNN, HuffPo, TechCrunch etc.
It's good to read as much as you can, especially things that are outside your normal horizons.