4 ms·
The attention deficit in action. (Not to blame you personally, this is what the modern communication style does to us in its pervasiveness, and the delicious "l
by Koshkin 4y ago
The attention deficit in action. (Not to blame you personally, this is what the modern communication style does to us in its pervasiveness, and the delicious "long form" characteristic of the "olden times" is no longer easily digestible by anyone with the prolonged exposure to texting and such; even when it comes to email, people often have enough patience to only read the first sentence.)
- codeulike 4y agoSorry can you explain that again a bit more briefly?
- klyrs 4y agotake longer; don't relent
- akiselev 4y agoThe 21st century in a nutshell: too long; didn't read.
- claytongulick 4y agoCare to elucidate?
- ryandrake 4y agoModern technology makes people's brains impatient.
- kridsdale1 4y agoI’m sorry I lost interest by word three.
- watwut 4y agoTo be fair, more readable 19 century texts definitely exists. Not every writer was writing in such convoluted way.
- Apocryphon 4y ago> Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me. "Not every writer was writing in such convoluted way." Sure there were. But unless they're Mark Twain or Ambrose Bierce, they're probably not much worth reading.
- cpr 4y agoAre you kidding me? The greatest American novel of all time? Not worth reading?
- Apocryphon 4y agoI was dismissing the previous post that claimed that "more readable" - less "convoluted" - 19th century texts existed by saying such texts are probably not worth reading, as the much more complex works are heralded as classics of English literature.
- jeffjobs4000 4y agoI find this passage to be far more readable than the Scarlet Letter one posted above. Sure, it's long, but it's developing the character. Before screens, people must have gotten far more enjoyment from authors painting mental pictures in tiny detail. We have HD video as an option now. A long description of a rose bush doesn't do it for me unless it's needed for the actual narrative.