I pick up a book, it has HEFT. I FEEL satisfied with my selection in hand, that I have acquired a goodly amount of reading material on a subject or by an author who I feel is worthy of my time.
I open the book and skim the contents page, a worthy array of subjects that pique my interest entice me on but the MEDIUM prevents me from an indulgent glance. I understand inherently that I am expected to progress through the material with the author, at their pace before I can uncover the gold within.
I open the article 'The Erosion of Deep Literacy' in my browser. A PROGRESS METER appears on the right-hand side known as the scroll-bar telling me this article is longer than a three minute read, and that I have a LONG WAIT ahead before my progress is complete.
Immediately I want to know if the article is worth my time and without a CONTENTS PAGE to assure me I flick the oh-so convenient mouse wheel or thumb across my screen and scroll to the bottom with happy abandon!
JUDGEMENT BEGINS as I scan for hints of life; highlighted text, INFO BOXES.. PICTURES!? my guide-posts of worthiness are lacking and emotions set in.. Do I really WANT to spend fifteen whole minutes here?
Long-form is dead on the web of my heart, flicked away like a tik-tok meme that took too long to load... oh look, a butterfly!
Paper medium is not that different — I can estimate size by sight, I can skim through pages, check pictures. It is different in publishing, books are often good enough to buy.
But yes, scrollbar helps to "finish" article even if it is not worth it. Disable in Chrome:
That made me chuckle; I like your sense of humour.
I read a great deal, print and online. HN frequently serves as my filter for hefty online articles; I look at the comments to inform decisions to read or avoid.
I pick up a book, it has HEFT. I FEEL satisfied with my selection in hand, that I have acquired a goodly amount of reading material on a subject or by an author who I feel is worthy of my time.
I open the book and skim the contents page, a worthy array of subjects that pique my interest entice me on but the MEDIUM prevents me from an indulgent glance. I understand inherently that I am expected to progress through the material with the author, at their pace before I can uncover the gold within.
I open the article 'The Erosion of Deep Literacy' in my browser. A PROGRESS METER appears on the right-hand side known as the scroll-bar telling me this article is longer than a three minute read, and that I have a LONG WAIT ahead before my progress is complete.
Immediately I want to know if the article is worth my time and without a CONTENTS PAGE to assure me I flick the oh-so convenient mouse wheel or thumb across my screen and scroll to the bottom with happy abandon!
JUDGEMENT BEGINS as I scan for hints of life; highlighted text, INFO BOXES.. PICTURES!? my guide-posts of worthiness are lacking and emotions set in.. Do I really WANT to spend fifteen whole minutes here?
Long-form is dead on the web of my heart, flicked away like a tik-tok meme that took too long to load... oh look, a butterfly!