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I like to think it's less about patterns of consumption, and more about what we consume. One of my favourite quotes: “I cannot remember the books I've read an

I like to think it's less about patterns of consumption, and more about what we consume. One of my favourite quotes: “I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” To me, that suggests a number of things. For one, consuming information is undervalued by the author of the blog. It's fundamental to us. Secondly, while you like broccoli and drink milk, I might well be allergic to milk and hate broccoli (I don't, just musing)... So one should be slow to judge. That said, I've never used Netflix. I could be missing out. And finally, you wouldn't eat a 4 course meal on you commute, and you would definitely have some trouble making one on a bus or train ride too.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
I like the "you are what you eat" sentiment and agree about judging (I used to hate broccoli, now I tolerate it) but analogies being what they are: > And finally, you wouldn't eat a 4 course meal on you commute, and you would definitely have some trouble making one on a bus or train ride too. You wouldn't eat a 4 course meal on a bus, but it's not 4 courses and flavor and textures that "make you", it's the calories and nutrients. I can absolutely eat a 2/3 of a day's worth of food on a bus no problem, and I can absolutely make this food on a bus too. Think Soylent-like shakes. (The equivalent of making Soylent shakes on a longer commute is a netbook with SSH connection to my home desktop, running terminal Emacs frame. Don't do that always, though - I learned to use travel time to rest and think.)
toxicFork 7y ago
Thank you for this quote. I am going through a book (The Nicomachean Ethics) trying to really understand every sentence in it, and its meaning. Going back and forth, taking notes. More like studying it than reading it, I guess. It's taking me a long time, almost a year. I was wondering if I remember the previous chapters, and I sort of do so. But I worry that by the time I have finished it, I will not be able to summarize the chapters well. I guess it's not necessary. There are many things I have picked up from it; it has lead to many interesting discussions with my friends, and so on. That should be enough.
- temo4ka 7y ago
  Consider pre-reading it first. If a book is hard, if it’s over you head, try going through the whole book w/o stopping on things you don’t understand (don’t fixate). In this way you’ll grasp the major points, ideas and themes. Only then read it carefully — you’ll understand better and get more out of the book. It’s similar to progressive JPEG rendering. Your first pass is pre-processing resulting in fuzzy understanding of the whole that you then refine in the subsequent pass(es). Progressive way is more natural and effective. I highly recommend reading Adler’s “How to Read a Book” [1]. This exactly the guide you want to read if you want to know how to learn well from books. 1. https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Classic-Intelligent/dp/0671212095 https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Classic-Intelligent/dp/...
  - toxicFork 7y ago
    Thank you for the suggestion, I will give it a try.
ramblrd 7y ago
I know Georg Christoph Lichtenberg wrote something similar, in the 18th Century: - https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/868998-i-forget-most-of-what-i-read-just-as-i https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/868998-i-forget-most-of-wha...
therealdrag0 7y ago
I love that quote, but in my experience there are diminishing returns. I peaked (according to Goodreads) in 2012 when I read 75 books (including many large tomes! Godel Escher Bach, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Catch-22, Hyperion, Brothers Karamazov, Thinking Fast and Slow). But after all that, I felt like a hollow/vain effort. I felt like I spent TOO much time in books, time not investing in relationships or skills. Now I read ~25 a year, and that seems like a sweet spot (though I still feel like I spend too much time on reddit/HN heh). Anyways the OP article resonated with me. I've been taking the bus for the first time in my life this year and am wanting to start writing while on it.

TeMPOraL 7y ago

I like the "you are what you eat" sentiment and agree about judging (I used to hate broccoli, now I tolerate it) but analogies being what they are: > And finally, you wouldn't eat a 4 course meal on you commute, and you would definitely have some trouble making one on a bus or train ride too. You wouldn't eat a 4 course meal on a bus, but it's not 4 courses and flavor and textures that "make you", it's the calories and nutrients. I can absolutely eat a 2/3 of a day's worth of food on a bus no problem, and I can absolutely make this food on a bus too. Think Soylent-like shakes. (The equivalent of making Soylent shakes on a longer commute is a netbook with SSH connection to my home desktop, running terminal Emacs frame. Don't do that always, though - I learned to use travel time to rest and think.)

toxicFork 7y ago

Thank you for this quote. I am going through a book (The Nicomachean Ethics) trying to really understand every sentence in it, and its meaning. Going back and forth, taking notes. More like studying it than reading it, I guess. It's taking me a long time, almost a year. I was wondering if I remember the previous chapters, and I sort of do so. But I worry that by the time I have finished it, I will not be able to summarize the chapters well. I guess it's not necessary. There are many things I have picked up from it; it has lead to many interesting discussions with my friends, and so on. That should be enough.

temo4ka 7y ago
Consider pre-reading it first. If a book is hard, if it’s over you head, try going through the whole book w/o stopping on things you don’t understand (don’t fixate). In this way you’ll grasp the major points, ideas and themes. Only then read it carefully — you’ll understand better and get more out of the book. It’s similar to progressive JPEG rendering. Your first pass is pre-processing resulting in fuzzy understanding of the whole that you then refine in the subsequent pass(es). Progressive way is more natural and effective. I highly recommend reading Adler’s “How to Read a Book” [1]. This exactly the guide you want to read if you want to know how to learn well from books. 1. https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Classic-Intelligent/dp/0671212095 https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Classic-Intelligent/dp/...
- toxicFork 7y ago
  Thank you for the suggestion, I will give it a try.

ramblrd 7y ago

I know Georg Christoph Lichtenberg wrote something similar, in the 18th Century: - https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/868998-i-forget-most-of-what-i-read-just-as-i https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/868998-i-forget-most-of-wha...

therealdrag0 7y ago

I love that quote, but in my experience there are diminishing returns. I peaked (according to Goodreads) in 2012 when I read 75 books (including many large tomes! Godel Escher Bach, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Catch-22, Hyperion, Brothers Karamazov, Thinking Fast and Slow). But after all that, I felt like a hollow/vain effort. I felt like I spent TOO much time in books, time not investing in relationships or skills. Now I read ~25 a year, and that seems like a sweet spot (though I still feel like I spend too much time on reddit/HN heh). Anyways the OP article resonated with me. I've been taking the bus for the first time in my life this year and am wanting to start writing while on it.