5 ms·

While the article veers a bit all over the place at its core it's about a topic I have given a lot of thought to - relationship between information form and con

by Paul_S 5y ago

While the article veers a bit all over the place at its core it's about a topic I have given a lot of thought to - relationship between information form and content and our expectations. I still read books but I'm very against fetishising them. I don't understand the emotional connection with paper, typewriters and the general attitude that medium destroys the content. What I think happens a lot is the old correlation vs causation mistake. Let me illustrate with an anecdote. When I was beginning woodworking I discovered a lot of educational youtube channels which I thought were great. At the same time I bought a lot of books. A couple of years later I realised that those youtube channels were mostly worthless but I still use those books to this day. The paradox is that it should be obvious that video is a much better medium to teach you woodworking. Unfortunately, due to factors outside of those dictated by form, it so happens that books are better, even though they are limited by their form. Sometimes I think it's self reinforcing by people producing to the expectations of the platform - so the real limitation is not the form but the customer's expectation. People quickly create mental shortcuts and hence the cargo cult of paper. I reject it. I often find that after reading a history book I learn and am entertained more by reading a few wikipedia articles on the subject. Paper is no guarantee of quality, and modern form is not the limit (modern form has in fact fewer limits than paper).

hirako2000 5y ago
Interesting counter balance. I still think what makes books perceived as more valuable is based on a actual facts that comes out of this medium: barrier of entry. It takes serious dedication to author a book. Writing over 100 pages on any subject takes dedication, ability to organise thoughts, multiple reviews and editing passes. Most other media don't require this level of dedication and abilities to formulate valuable thoughts. Twitter is on the other extreme of the spectrum. Just a short phrase and tap "publish". Can do this on the toilet seat. Even making a video now takes far less effort than writing a book given the productivity tools made available to anyone who has a mid range smartphone. Edit: it doesn't imply all books are valuable, actually most aren't. But the barrier of entry leads to less noise than found on most other media.
- DarylZero 5y ago
  People who make woodworking videos on youtube are putting in a lot of work though. It's very professionalized. The amount of effort (money, space, equipment) that would be required to compete with these professional youtubers is a substantial barrier to entry, though of course it's easy enough to make a non-competitive video.
pm90 5y ago
Ultimately I believe what books help is to create a shared perspective of the world. If everyone has read a book, you can quote a passage and everyone gets what you’re trying to communicate. You may use it in clever ways in your daily interactions. In premodern times, books literally shaped language by introducing new words, terms and phrases. Today, the closest thing I can think of is popular TV shows and movies; but also, video games, social media etc. What was once the exclusive domain of books is now accessible via other media. Of course the book people are mad at this but I agree with you that it’s kinda antiquated to lament that books have lost that place in society.
DarylZero 5y ago
> Unfortunately, due to factors outside of those dictated by form, it so happens that books are better, even though they are limited by their form. I think you've got this backwards: it's the "form" that dictates youtube videos must always target the lowest common denominator, target absolute beginners, use clickbait approaches to topic selection, and spread content thin to increase number of videos. (The "form" not being merely video, though, but the overall platform: the feed algorithm, the userbase, the thumbnail popups, etc.)
- Paul_S 5y ago
  I didn't think of the form as "YouTube video", but you make a good argument. I divided it into the form "video" and expectations of the audience "youtube". Now I see it was arbitrary. Instead I should've thought of the distinction between technical limits of the form and non technical.

by Paul_S 5y ago

hirako2000 5y ago

Interesting counter balance. I still think what makes books perceived as more valuable is based on a actual facts that comes out of this medium: barrier of entry. It takes serious dedication to author a book. Writing over 100 pages on any subject takes dedication, ability to organise thoughts, multiple reviews and editing passes. Most other media don't require this level of dedication and abilities to formulate valuable thoughts. Twitter is on the other extreme of the spectrum. Just a short phrase and tap "publish". Can do this on the toilet seat. Even making a video now takes far less effort than writing a book given the productivity tools made available to anyone who has a mid range smartphone. Edit: it doesn't imply all books are valuable, actually most aren't. But the barrier of entry leads to less noise than found on most other media.

DarylZero 5y ago
People who make woodworking videos on youtube are putting in a lot of work though. It's very professionalized. The amount of effort (money, space, equipment) that would be required to compete with these professional youtubers is a substantial barrier to entry, though of course it's easy enough to make a non-competitive video.

pm90 5y ago

Ultimately I believe what books help is to create a shared perspective of the world. If everyone has read a book, you can quote a passage and everyone gets what you’re trying to communicate. You may use it in clever ways in your daily interactions. In premodern times, books literally shaped language by introducing new words, terms and phrases. Today, the closest thing I can think of is popular TV shows and movies; but also, video games, social media etc. What was once the exclusive domain of books is now accessible via other media. Of course the book people are mad at this but I agree with you that it’s kinda antiquated to lament that books have lost that place in society.

DarylZero 5y ago

> Unfortunately, due to factors outside of those dictated by form, it so happens that books are better, even though they are limited by their form. I think you've got this backwards: it's the "form" that dictates youtube videos must always target the lowest common denominator, target absolute beginners, use clickbait approaches to topic selection, and spread content thin to increase number of videos. (The "form" not being merely video, though, but the overall platform: the feed algorithm, the userbase, the thumbnail popups, etc.)

Paul_S 5y ago
I didn't think of the form as "YouTube video", but you make a good argument. I divided it into the form "video" and expectations of the audience "youtube". Now I see it was arbitrary. Instead I should've thought of the distinction between technical limits of the form and non technical.