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Hacker News discussed an essay, http://www.paulgraham.com/newideas.html http://www.paulgraham.com/newideas.html I took footnote five as a book recommendation,

Hacker News discussed an essay, http://www.paulgraham.com/newideas.html http://www.paulgraham.com/newideas.html I took footnote five as a book recommendation, and bought a second hand copy of From Galileo to Newton Fascinating stuff. Right from the start, with the Royal Society being set up in 1660, money was a problem. Gentleman amateurs couldn't afford to keep skilled craftsman in their employ, building air pumps, blowing glass barometers and the like. So they looked for government patronage. But to return to the question, I experience some synergy, with blogs and HN stimulating my curiosity and prompting me to buy and read books. Online is not entirely distraction and time wasting.

padobson 5y ago
Looking at the whole internet as a sort of "Pandora for Books" has been great for me. I try to recognize when I'm consuming too much short text, like your comment, and then I'll go an pick up a book instead. I'll let myself drift on the web a bit more when I'm between books, but when I start to get interested in a particular subject, I go looking for a book on it instead of the (usually) much lower quality online discussion. This includes both fiction and non-fiction. I just finished a Del Rey Star Wars book - much more enjoyable than viewing another Prequel Meme.
- type0 5y ago
  > ... whole internet as a sort of "Pandora for Books" Rings so true. Deciding on what to read is not an easy problem. Here's some digital bookshelves for inspiration: https://tomcritchlow.com/wiki/books/bookshelves/ https://tomcritchlow.com/wiki/books/bookshelves/