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As other commenters here have alluded, if you read a lot, especially a lot of non-fiction, you start to realize that much of what is out there is mostly fluff h

As other commenters here have alluded, if you read a lot, especially a lot of non-fiction, you start to realize that much of what is out there is mostly fluff hiding the true point the headline alludes. That's why you see the rise of apps like Blinkist, which summarizes whole books in 15 minutes. As an avid reader, I don't care for the backstory, I don't care for how you arrived where you are, and I don't really care for your musing or anecdotes or examples or any fluff you use to make an article an article. At some point, if you're intelligent enough, you feel like you've heard it all and just want to meat. The sad truth is that most articles can be summed up in one paragraph, or even bullet points. The points can even be highlighted from the fluff and those who don't care to read it. Skimming isn't some degradation of society, its society adapting to the information overflow. A good, well written book will have quality content that keeps you from skimming.

Barrin92 8y ago
> if you're intelligent enough, you feel like you've heard it all and just want to meat no, if you are intelligent then you value context, details, nuance and looking at the same point from varied angles. If you're intelligent you try to become deeply knowledgeable about one topic that you are passionate about rather than trying to memorize bullet points, which gets you nowhere. The unique feat of human intellect is deep excellence in individual domains, not being able to quickly absorb bullet points. Deeply intelligent individuals dive into topics to such a degree of detail that it would even bore the average 'deep reader' to death. The answer to information overflow is not to trade detail for bullet points. Key is to be able to discern what is relevant to you and what is not, and to focus deeply on the things that are. The fact that people tend towards skimming is a sign that they are not able to do this.
- noetic_techy 8y ago
  > The points can even be highlighted from the fluff and those who don't care to read it. The best of both worlds. You're correct, if I truly care for a topic, I will read the fluff. The vast majority of internet articles don't fall into this category. I disagree, the fact that they skim means they ARE able to do this.

Barrin92 8y ago

> if you're intelligent enough, you feel like you've heard it all and just want to meat no, if you are intelligent then you value context, details, nuance and looking at the same point from varied angles. If you're intelligent you try to become deeply knowledgeable about one topic that you are passionate about rather than trying to memorize bullet points, which gets you nowhere. The unique feat of human intellect is deep excellence in individual domains, not being able to quickly absorb bullet points. Deeply intelligent individuals dive into topics to such a degree of detail that it would even bore the average 'deep reader' to death. The answer to information overflow is not to trade detail for bullet points. Key is to be able to discern what is relevant to you and what is not, and to focus deeply on the things that are. The fact that people tend towards skimming is a sign that they are not able to do this.

noetic_techy 8y ago
> The points can even be highlighted from the fluff and those who don't care to read it. The best of both worlds. You're correct, if I truly care for a topic, I will read the fluff. The vast majority of internet articles don't fall into this category. I disagree, the fact that they skim means they ARE able to do this.