5 ms·

Why I Am a Bad Correspondent (1998)

48 points by luu 6y ago

twox2 6y ago
The text on this site is so annoying to read due to lack of contrast.
- dmckeon 6y ago
  Save this as a bookmark/shortcut/tool javascript:(function(){var%20newSS,%20styles='*%20{%20background:%20white%20!%20important;%20color:%20black%20! important%20}%20:link,%20:link%20*%20{%20color:%20#0000EE%20!important%20}%20:visited,%20:visited%20*%20{%20 color:%20#551A8B%20!important%20}';%20if(document.createStyleSheet)%20{%20document.createStyleSheet (%22javascript:'%22+styles+%22'%22);%20}%20else%20{%20newSS=document.createElement('link'); %20newSS.rel='stylesheet';%20newSS.href='data:text/css,'+escape(styles);%20 document.getElementsByTagName(%22head%22)[0].appendChild(newSS);%20}%20})();
  - dang 6y ago
    I added some line breaks to your JS because it was borking the layout of this page. Sorry—it's our bug; we're going to fix it.
- titanomachy 6y ago
  Yeah, I edited the CSS before reading...
- rdiddly 6y ago
  Quick fix for me was to "select all" which for you might be Ctrl-A, or Command-A, or a comically annoying ordeal of long-pressing and dragging selection handles around...
- inetsee 6y ago
  I have in the past been very critical of some web pages for poor readability. When I first read this page I didn't think it was that bad. I have seen web pages designed by professionals that are much worse: tiny fonts and really low contrast. If you are using Firefox there is an extension named "Tranquility" that does a reasonably good job of correcting readability issues. I don't know if there's a similar extension for Chrome.
acheron 6y ago
Title currently says 2015, but the "Bad Correspondent" essay is originally from 1998. There's a thematic followup called "Why I am a Social Mediapath" that's from 2015 though.
bborud 6y ago
He is a worse web designer.
- cultus 6y ago
  At least he can pay his bills with his books.
hevelvarik 6y ago
I’m surprised that he isn’t wealthy on the back of his world famous novels, and also why some of his novels haven’t been brought to cinema. Snow Crash would make a good film in the Internet age. Perhaps, this essay is old though, and by now he is and some of them have been.
- kjaftaedi 6y ago
  https://www.engadget.com/2019-12-14-snow-crash-tv-series-hbo-max.html https://www.engadget.com/2019-12-14-snow-crash-tv-series-hbo...
  - tpmx 6y ago
    Ready Player One was competently directed by freaking Steven Spielberg with a "$155–175 million" budget and still sorta disappointed lots of us who had read the book. Perhaps some awesome scifi books are just better left to the imagination? Edit: I felt the same after watching "Ender's Game" (2013). Edit 2: I felt that the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "Good Omens" featuring David Tennant and Michael Sheen was absolutely brilliant. I hadn't gotten around to reading the book yet though...
    - bborud 6y ago
      Both Ready Player One and Ender lacked grittyness and good actors to carry the roles. Turning them into fluffy afternoon cartoons. Good Omens on the other hands was solidly built around good acting and a style that fit the book.
  - inetsee 6y ago
    This article also says that Amazon may develop William Gibson's "The Peripheral". https://www.engadget.com/2019-11-13-amazon-william-gibson-the-peripheral-series.html https://www.engadget.com/2019-11-13-amazon-william-gibson-th... I'd love to see that!
- titanomachy 6y ago
  How do you know he isn't wealthy?
hirundo 6y ago
> I am trying to be a good novelist, and hoping that people will forgive me for being a bad correspondent. %s/novelist/coder %s/a bad correspondent/unresponsive on slack
- dmckeon 6y ago
  > If I organize my life in such a way that I get lots of long, consecutive, uninterrupted time-chunks, I can write ...
bfieidhbrjr 6y ago
I think in Fall he calls the internet "The Sewer"... In case anyone was confused how he felt about it :-)
- dualboot 6y ago
  Miasma
haswell 6y ago
Cal Newport's Deep Work [0] strongly advocates for exactly what he's doing. Neal may say "Bad Correspondent", but someone like Cal would argue that he's doing exactly what he must do to be successful as an author. Cal even mentions that Neal is his "Deep Work Idol" for this reason [1]. The difference is, Neal seems to feel badly about this, likely due to the pressures society puts on public figures to be available to them. I really like the "Sender Filter" concepts outlined in Deep Work to help address this very issue (also discussed on Cal's blog) [2]. If you haven't noticed, I re-read Deep Work recently, so it's all fresh ;) [0] https://www.calnewport.com/books/deep-work/ https://www.calnewport.com/books/deep-work/ [1] https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/02/16/write-an-attention-charter/ https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/02/16/write-an-attentio... [2] https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/04/12/to-make-email-easier-we-must-make-it-harder/ https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/04/12/to-make-email-eas...

48 points by luu 6y ago

twox2 6y ago

The text on this site is so annoying to read due to lack of contrast.

dmckeon 6y ago
Save this as a bookmark/shortcut/tool javascript:(function(){var%20newSS,%20styles='*%20{%20background:%20white%20!%20important;%20color:%20black%20! important%20}%20:link,%20:link%20*%20{%20color:%20#0000EE%20!important%20}%20:visited,%20:visited%20*%20{%20 color:%20#551A8B%20!important%20}';%20if(document.createStyleSheet)%20{%20document.createStyleSheet (%22javascript:'%22+styles+%22'%22);%20}%20else%20{%20newSS=document.createElement('link'); %20newSS.rel='stylesheet';%20newSS.href='data:text/css,'+escape(styles);%20 document.getElementsByTagName(%22head%22)[0].appendChild(newSS);%20}%20})();
- dang 6y ago
  I added some line breaks to your JS because it was borking the layout of this page. Sorry—it's our bug; we're going to fix it.
titanomachy 6y ago
Yeah, I edited the CSS before reading...
rdiddly 6y ago
Quick fix for me was to "select all" which for you might be Ctrl-A, or Command-A, or a comically annoying ordeal of long-pressing and dragging selection handles around...
inetsee 6y ago
I have in the past been very critical of some web pages for poor readability. When I first read this page I didn't think it was that bad. I have seen web pages designed by professionals that are much worse: tiny fonts and really low contrast. If you are using Firefox there is an extension named "Tranquility" that does a reasonably good job of correcting readability issues. I don't know if there's a similar extension for Chrome.

acheron 6y ago

Title currently says 2015, but the "Bad Correspondent" essay is originally from 1998. There's a thematic followup called "Why I am a Social Mediapath" that's from 2015 though.

bborud 6y ago

He is a worse web designer.

cultus 6y ago
At least he can pay his bills with his books.

hevelvarik 6y ago

I’m surprised that he isn’t wealthy on the back of his world famous novels, and also why some of his novels haven’t been brought to cinema. Snow Crash would make a good film in the Internet age. Perhaps, this essay is old though, and by now he is and some of them have been.

kjaftaedi 6y ago
https://www.engadget.com/2019-12-14-snow-crash-tv-series-hbo-max.html https://www.engadget.com/2019-12-14-snow-crash-tv-series-hbo...
- tpmx 6y ago
  Ready Player One was competently directed by freaking Steven Spielberg with a "$155–175 million" budget and still sorta disappointed lots of us who had read the book. Perhaps some awesome scifi books are just better left to the imagination? Edit: I felt the same after watching "Ender's Game" (2013). Edit 2: I felt that the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "Good Omens" featuring David Tennant and Michael Sheen was absolutely brilliant. I hadn't gotten around to reading the book yet though...
  - bborud 6y ago
    Both Ready Player One and Ender lacked grittyness and good actors to carry the roles. Turning them into fluffy afternoon cartoons. Good Omens on the other hands was solidly built around good acting and a style that fit the book.
- inetsee 6y ago
  This article also says that Amazon may develop William Gibson's "The Peripheral". https://www.engadget.com/2019-11-13-amazon-william-gibson-the-peripheral-series.html https://www.engadget.com/2019-11-13-amazon-william-gibson-th... I'd love to see that!
titanomachy 6y ago
How do you know he isn't wealthy?

hirundo 6y ago

> I am trying to be a good novelist, and hoping that people will forgive me for being a bad correspondent. %s/novelist/coder %s/a bad correspondent/unresponsive on slack

dmckeon 6y ago
> If I organize my life in such a way that I get lots of long, consecutive, uninterrupted time-chunks, I can write ...

bfieidhbrjr 6y ago

I think in Fall he calls the internet "The Sewer"... In case anyone was confused how he felt about it :-)

dualboot 6y ago
Miasma

haswell 6y ago

Cal Newport's Deep Work [0] strongly advocates for exactly what he's doing. Neal may say "Bad Correspondent", but someone like Cal would argue that he's doing exactly what he must do to be successful as an author. Cal even mentions that Neal is his "Deep Work Idol" for this reason [1]. The difference is, Neal seems to feel badly about this, likely due to the pressures society puts on public figures to be available to them. I really like the "Sender Filter" concepts outlined in Deep Work to help address this very issue (also discussed on Cal's blog) [2]. If you haven't noticed, I re-read Deep Work recently, so it's all fresh ;) [0] https://www.calnewport.com/books/deep-work/ https://www.calnewport.com/books/deep-work/ [1] https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/02/16/write-an-attention-charter/ https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/02/16/write-an-attentio... [2] https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/04/12/to-make-email-easier-we-must-make-it-harder/ https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2016/04/12/to-make-email-eas...