4 ms·

When everybody’s reading, but nobody’s smarter, what value has the word?

45 points by pmcpinto 12y ago

ocfx 12y ago
http://www.paulgraham.com/know.html http://www.paulgraham.com/know.html
- pcurve 12y ago
  "Reading and experience train your model of the world. And even if you forget the experience or what you read, its effect on your model of the world persists. Your mind is like a compiled program you've lost the source of. It works, but you don't know why." Love that paragraph. Thanks for the link. Unlike other fillers I've read all day, this one will stick with me.
jdc 12y ago
Schopenhauer's "On Reading and Books": https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/chapter3.html https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/...
lsiebert 12y ago
Have people not heard of the flynn effect? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect Basically, IQ has been continually increasing since it was first measured, by about 3 IQ points per decade in the US. IQ tests are readjusted based on this.
- SpaceManNabs 12y ago
  The article is about how the disproportionate state of our knowledge and time spent reading when using a naive assumption that more reading leads to more "smart." Nothing about measurable differences in performance...
  - spiritplumber 12y ago
    I'd love an IQ test that allows, and makes the assumption, that the person taking the test has a smartphone.
    - superobserver 12y ago
      Good luck: www.iq-tests-for-the-high-range.com
- malkia 12y ago
  In a way... an IQ inflation? (Does that even sound right?) huh...
  - Klockan 12y ago
    Technically it is an IQ deflation since 100 IQ today is more than 100 IQ 50 years ago.
- superobserver 12y ago
  Flynn effect is more an indication of improving performance on IQ tests, not an indication of increasing intelligence. That's why the Flynn effect is often referred to as "hollow" gains.
gavinpc 12y ago
So far, there are three comments, each with links to further reading. C'mon, guys. TL;DR: TL;DR
macromaniac 12y ago
I think it would be cool if, when scrolling through an article, the word size changes based on how far along the article you are. For instance, at the top of the article the words towards the top of your screen are bigger and easier to read, and at the bottom of the article the words towards the bottom of your screen are bigger and easier to read. This has the effect that your eyes start at the top of the article and slowly go towards the bottom as you read through the article. This should help combat the "F" shaped reading problem the article was talking about.
- serve_yay 12y ago
  ... What?!
Sven7 12y ago
I call it the Jon Stewart\Glenn Beck model of selling ads. Reactions vs Solutions.
obstinate 12y ago
But before you stop to consider that, please finish reading my contribution to the supposed problem.
lotsofmangos 12y ago
"The typical American consumes more than 100,000 words a day, and remembers none of them." Well, this is obviously not true. Also, we are seeing the largest explosion in literacy in history.

45 points by pmcpinto 12y ago

ocfx 12y ago

http://www.paulgraham.com/know.html http://www.paulgraham.com/know.html

pcurve 12y ago
"Reading and experience train your model of the world. And even if you forget the experience or what you read, its effect on your model of the world persists. Your mind is like a compiled program you've lost the source of. It works, but you don't know why." Love that paragraph. Thanks for the link. Unlike other fillers I've read all day, this one will stick with me.

jdc 12y ago

Schopenhauer's "On Reading and Books": https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/chapter3.html https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/...

lsiebert 12y ago

Have people not heard of the flynn effect? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect Basically, IQ has been continually increasing since it was first measured, by about 3 IQ points per decade in the US. IQ tests are readjusted based on this.

SpaceManNabs 12y ago
The article is about how the disproportionate state of our knowledge and time spent reading when using a naive assumption that more reading leads to more "smart." Nothing about measurable differences in performance...
- spiritplumber 12y ago
  I'd love an IQ test that allows, and makes the assumption, that the person taking the test has a smartphone.
  - superobserver 12y ago
    Good luck: www.iq-tests-for-the-high-range.com
malkia 12y ago
In a way... an IQ inflation? (Does that even sound right?) huh...
- Klockan 12y ago
  Technically it is an IQ deflation since 100 IQ today is more than 100 IQ 50 years ago.
superobserver 12y ago
Flynn effect is more an indication of improving performance on IQ tests, not an indication of increasing intelligence. That's why the Flynn effect is often referred to as "hollow" gains.

gavinpc 12y ago

So far, there are three comments, each with links to further reading. C'mon, guys. TL;DR: TL;DR

macromaniac 12y ago

I think it would be cool if, when scrolling through an article, the word size changes based on how far along the article you are. For instance, at the top of the article the words towards the top of your screen are bigger and easier to read, and at the bottom of the article the words towards the bottom of your screen are bigger and easier to read. This has the effect that your eyes start at the top of the article and slowly go towards the bottom as you read through the article. This should help combat the "F" shaped reading problem the article was talking about.

serve_yay 12y ago
... What?!

Sven7 12y ago

I call it the Jon Stewart\Glenn Beck model of selling ads. Reactions vs Solutions.

obstinate 12y ago

But before you stop to consider that, please finish reading my contribution to the supposed problem.

lotsofmangos 12y ago

"The typical American consumes more than 100,000 words a day, and remembers none of them." Well, this is obviously not true. Also, we are seeing the largest explosion in literacy in history.