Excellent Deresiewicz article. It's true that very original thoughts come out once you have the time to establish context, a connection with the audience, etc.

Excellent Deresiewicz article. It's true that very original thoughts come out once you have the time to establish context, a connection with the audience, etc. And this enables a sort of learning and communication that may be impossible or difficult to transmit via short form content - be it blogging or micro-blogging. That being said, I actually see a ton of insightful, one liner comments on Twitter all the time. And the ratio of time taken vs. learning absorbed is far better than I think a book has ever given me. Maybe in the next 5-10 years books stick around via new e-readers, and one day, a chip in our body that lets us read anything any time but just closing our eyes. They may never totally go away. But just like live theater dominated the sphere of 'entertainment' long ago, it has retreated to a niche, and I think with the rise of short form content, mass video production/distribution, and other media shifts, that is where books are headed, too.