16 ms·

More readable formatting: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1482811504424542211.html https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1482811504424542211.html

molbioguy 5y ago
That is so much better! Thank you.
plucas 5y ago
Note that Thread Reader loses the images attached to some of the tweets (at least for me). Edit: strike that, it was Firefox's social tracker protection blocking them. Just need to click the shield icon left of the address bar and temporarily disable it.
bradstewart 5y ago
Am I crazy, in that I actually like Twitter threads for this sort of thing--at least in the hands of a capable author? When threaded correctly (as this one is), its easy to follow. And the requirement to condense and split thoughts into tweet-sized chunks creates natural breaks to pause and consider the content before continuing. I find the cadence of "each thought is a tweet" provides a nice rhythm. Sure, you can do this with paragraphs in a blog post. But Twitter works equally well in my mind!
- actually_a_dog 5y ago
  You may actually have something there. The average word length in English is approximately 5 letters, which gives you an average of about 56 words per tweet. That's roughly 5-6 solid sentences, which is... one good paragraph. It probably didn't work as well before they raised the character limit from 140 to 280.
- snet0 5y ago
  I think this was one of the few good Twitter threads. Each Tweet was a kind of step from the previous, towards the next. The only thing I think would be improved by having this in blogpost form is more interact-able visuals, equations and similar.
- axg11 5y ago
  I agree with you. I can understand why a theoretical physicist would find this format frustrating to read. For a layman, the forced tempo of threads helps me understand each point before I move on.
- kirykl 5y ago
  usually this is called paragraphs

molbioguy 5y ago

That is so much better! Thank you.

plucas 5y ago

Note that Thread Reader loses the images attached to some of the tweets (at least for me). Edit: strike that, it was Firefox's social tracker protection blocking them. Just need to click the shield icon left of the address bar and temporarily disable it.

bradstewart 5y ago

Am I crazy, in that I actually like Twitter threads for this sort of thing--at least in the hands of a capable author? When threaded correctly (as this one is), its easy to follow. And the requirement to condense and split thoughts into tweet-sized chunks creates natural breaks to pause and consider the content before continuing. I find the cadence of "each thought is a tweet" provides a nice rhythm. Sure, you can do this with paragraphs in a blog post. But Twitter works equally well in my mind!

actually_a_dog 5y ago
You may actually have something there. The average word length in English is approximately 5 letters, which gives you an average of about 56 words per tweet. That's roughly 5-6 solid sentences, which is... one good paragraph. It probably didn't work as well before they raised the character limit from 140 to 280.
snet0 5y ago
I think this was one of the few good Twitter threads. Each Tweet was a kind of step from the previous, towards the next. The only thing I think would be improved by having this in blogpost form is more interact-able visuals, equations and similar.
axg11 5y ago
I agree with you. I can understand why a theoretical physicist would find this format frustrating to read. For a layman, the forced tempo of threads helps me understand each point before I move on.
kirykl 5y ago
usually this is called paragraphs