3 ms·

This blog post is interesting in that it could be a tweet. The title is the whole thing.

api 1y ago
A good proportion of nonfiction books could be their blurbs. This is pretty common. We use too many words in a lot of contexts.
- iammjm 1y ago
  Nobody would pay 10-20$ for a blurb. So let’s somehow make it to about 200 pages and we’re good.
  - api 1y ago
    If we were rational we would pay more for the blurb if it’s insight was original and high quality.
- latexr 1y ago
  For those books, I realised that a much better use of time is to search YouTube for a talk by the author. They’ll explain everything that’s remotely interesting about the book’s thesis. Everything else in the book is typically anecdote after anecdote.
- stavros 1y ago
  I hate this so much, I made a website against it: https://www.thesummarist.net https://www.thesummarist.net
  - api 1y ago
    Thanks. That’s in my bookmark list now.
    - stavros 1y ago
      I'm glad you like it, I'm not updating it much these days, since nobody reads it, but I can take requests!
mooreds 1y ago
I think it did start out as a tweet. Here it is in 2022: https://x.com/jlengstorf/status/1483803682206466049 https://x.com/jlengstorf/status/1483803682206466049 I also think that he digs in a bit more: > Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on whether or not you enjoy the work. But I agree, he could have does a lot more analysis. The metaphor is striking, though.
leoc 1y ago
I'm a bit surprised that people are complaining so much about this. I have read many a blog post which stretched one or two fairly obvious thoughts out at great length. By comparison this post is just a few sentences and it manages to say something sensible, if not stunningly insightful, about the title. (The banner art and so on is a bit extra, yes, but ... meh.) The thing most worth complaining about here is that the title isn't original: 'academia', 'law school' and 'making partner' are all older and more common substitutions for 'a career'. 'Law school' seems to be particularly popular and appropriate, since (IIUC; IANAL) the best-performing US law-school students are rewarded with the coveted opportunity to move from cramming law for exams to working 996 pressure-cooker jobs as juniors at BigLaw firms.

api 1y ago

A good proportion of nonfiction books could be their blurbs. This is pretty common. We use too many words in a lot of contexts.

iammjm 1y ago
Nobody would pay 10-20$ for a blurb. So let’s somehow make it to about 200 pages and we’re good.
- api 1y ago
  If we were rational we would pay more for the blurb if it’s insight was original and high quality.
latexr 1y ago
For those books, I realised that a much better use of time is to search YouTube for a talk by the author. They’ll explain everything that’s remotely interesting about the book’s thesis. Everything else in the book is typically anecdote after anecdote.
stavros 1y ago
I hate this so much, I made a website against it: https://www.thesummarist.net https://www.thesummarist.net
- api 1y ago
  Thanks. That’s in my bookmark list now.
  - stavros 1y ago
    I'm glad you like it, I'm not updating it much these days, since nobody reads it, but I can take requests!

mooreds 1y ago

I think it did start out as a tweet. Here it is in 2022: https://x.com/jlengstorf/status/1483803682206466049 https://x.com/jlengstorf/status/1483803682206466049 I also think that he digs in a bit more: > Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on whether or not you enjoy the work. But I agree, he could have does a lot more analysis. The metaphor is striking, though.

leoc 1y ago

I'm a bit surprised that people are complaining so much about this. I have read many a blog post which stretched one or two fairly obvious thoughts out at great length. By comparison this post is just a few sentences and it manages to say something sensible, if not stunningly insightful, about the title. (The banner art and so on is a bit extra, yes, but ... meh.) The thing most worth complaining about here is that the title isn't original: 'academia', 'law school' and 'making partner' are all older and more common substitutions for 'a career'. 'Law school' seems to be particularly popular and appropriate, since (IIUC; IANAL) the best-performing US law-school students are rewarded with the coveted opportunity to move from cramming law for exams to working 996 pressure-cooker jobs as juniors at BigLaw firms.