The Need to Read
I read more and more books now. My findings:<p>1) There is a very strong relationship between the length of time it takes to compose something and its &#x27;value&#x27;. [0] That shouldn&#x27;t be a surprise. Twitter is on one end of that spectrum, books are on the other.<p>2) The range of value is far wider than people can conceive of. I know this fact yet in my tiny human mind I can&#x27;t conceive of the entire breadth of that spectrum, and I inevitably lose perspective and get wrapped up in my what I&#x27;m currently reading.<p>3) The highest value content , addressing the same topic as lower value content, has entirely different things to say, different questions to ask, different (i.e., real) knowledge. When I read it (I tend to forget otherwise; see #2), I am reminded that the lower value content - and I mean 99% of what&#x27;s out there - is bad information; it either addresses the wrong questions, is based on the wrong knowledge, or is flat out ignorant and&#x2F;or deceitful.<p>EDIT: 3.5) High value content is far more efficient and rewarding: One good high-value book saves you far more time sifting through 99% of the rest. Also, the pleasure and reward of interacting with humanities geniuses through their words far exceeds that of reading hyperbolic tweets by the 99.9999% who have far less talent and knowledge (not excluding myself). Finally, you absorb some of the habits of what you read; read the best and you absorb the best - great writing, high standards, clear thinking, etc.<p>4) There exists is far more of the highest value content than I have time to read in my life.<p>So why read anything else?<p>....<p>[0] Value: For lack of a better term, I&#x27;ll use value: It can include anything from directly applicable information to deep knowledge to artistic beauty.