5 ms·

I can read a quick Wikipedia article and get the gist of them pretty quickly then what's the point? If you enjoy reading that's one thing but there's not much

I can read a quick Wikipedia article and get the gist of them pretty quickly then what's the point? If you enjoy reading that's one thing but there's not much point otherwise.

ggpsv 3y ago
Sorry but isn't this disingenuous? Reading a summary of the book in Wikipedia/Blinkist/ChatGPT is definitely not the same as the reading book. Sure, you may grasp at the central idea or argument superficially, but to understand it fully, with its caveats and nuances, and overarching context? You can regurgitate but not assimilate.
- voidfunc 3y ago
  I dont think so. For "great works" all that stuff has been covered somewhere if you really care. You're putting way too much faith into people's intelligence (or projecting your own onto them) if you think people are picking up the nuanced bits just by reading. Which still to the thread starts point. All of that stuff could be captured in a diff medium and to my point if it's worth capturing in the first place can be summarized and the additional stuff you're mentioning written as bullet points.
  - lovecg 3y ago
    Reading a good book is a closest approximation we have to actually meeting the author in person. There are books that I read years ago that had such a big emotional impact they probably affected my personality in some way. I barely remember a single youtube video I watched last week.
    - praisewhitey 3y ago
      This is simply not true. I've met writers and they're exactly like they are in podcasts/youtube videos and nothing like their writing would suggest.
  - eszed 3y ago
    This is a process vs product issue. Yes, the product ("here's what this is / is about") can be captured wherever, but the process of engagement is the valuable bit. Of course no one - no matter how intelligent! - will pick up every bit of nuance. That's why engaging with what other people think (also a process!) about [whatever] is an important part of skill development. I don't think anyone is incapable of engaging in this - even if their sophistication will always be limited by their intelligence / affinity / time / etc etc etc. This is a useful paradigm under which to consider other skills. Computer code (product) is (approaching...) wide availability from LLMs, but the skills necessary to be a good developer come through a process that involves independently solving problems and asking questions that have (at least at first!) already been addressed by others.

I can read a quick Wikipedia article and get the gist of them pretty quickly then what's the point? If you enjoy reading that's one thing but there's not much point otherwise.

ggpsv 3y ago

Sorry but isn't this disingenuous? Reading a summary of the book in Wikipedia/Blinkist/ChatGPT is definitely not the same as the reading book. Sure, you may grasp at the central idea or argument superficially, but to understand it fully, with its caveats and nuances, and overarching context? You can regurgitate but not assimilate.

voidfunc 3y ago
I dont think so. For "great works" all that stuff has been covered somewhere if you really care. You're putting way too much faith into people's intelligence (or projecting your own onto them) if you think people are picking up the nuanced bits just by reading. Which still to the thread starts point. All of that stuff could be captured in a diff medium and to my point if it's worth capturing in the first place can be summarized and the additional stuff you're mentioning written as bullet points.
- lovecg 3y ago
  Reading a good book is a closest approximation we have to actually meeting the author in person. There are books that I read years ago that had such a big emotional impact they probably affected my personality in some way. I barely remember a single youtube video I watched last week.
  - praisewhitey 3y ago
    This is simply not true. I've met writers and they're exactly like they are in podcasts/youtube videos and nothing like their writing would suggest.
- eszed 3y ago
  This is a process vs product issue. Yes, the product ("here's what this is / is about") can be captured wherever, but the process of engagement is the valuable bit. Of course no one - no matter how intelligent! - will pick up every bit of nuance. That's why engaging with what other people think (also a process!) about [whatever] is an important part of skill development. I don't think anyone is incapable of engaging in this - even if their sophistication will always be limited by their intelligence / affinity / time / etc etc etc. This is a useful paradigm under which to consider other skills. Computer code (product) is (approaching...) wide availability from LLMs, but the skills necessary to be a good developer come through a process that involves independently solving problems and asking questions that have (at least at first!) already been addressed by others.