If my estimate of the value of the rest of the text is significantly less than my estimate of the value of the time and effort it would take me to read it, I'll

If my estimate of the value of the rest of the text is significantly less than my estimate of the value of the time and effort it would take me to read it, I'll skim to see if there's more value ahead, and if I don't find much I'll stop reading entirely. Contributing factors: - length - clarity (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.) - readability (layout, font, color scheme, distracting ads mid-page, etc.) - directness/relevance (getting to the point, not getting sidetracked.) - insightful or thought-provoking ideas (even if I disagree) - correctness (in terms of facts as well as reasoning; non-sequiturs and factual inaccuracies, especially egregious ones, reduce my confidence in the author) I found this particular article very close to my cutoff several times, though I did eventually finish it. Negative factors included opening with 2 paragraphs on Howard Zinn, several strange non-sequiturs like the one pointed out in the grandparent comment, excessive verbosity, irrelevant details (like the number of coins it costs per pumpkin), and stretches in reasoning (Farmville is "productive" and "not governed by rules" but "cause and effect"?) Occasional insights, and even occasional wrong-but-thought-provoking ideas, provided just enough value to keep me reading. But I'm a stay-at-home dad with a lot of free time; my valuation of my free time would go up if I had less of it, and I probably wouldn't have gotten past the first 3 or 4 paragraphs.