I have definitely felt a dramatic downturn in reading comprehension and the ability to deal with nuance in the past few years. I have learned to be extremely explicit in my communication to ward off getting sucked into an argument with someone who didn't understand the point I was trying to make.
This isn't just needing to be better at "effective communication", which I accept is something I'm not great at. What has surprised me instead is the level at which I feel I have to aim has been consistently lowered.
There has always been a risk on the internet of getting dragged into an argument of semantics, but what feels new and fresh, is the risk of getting dragged into an argument with someone who couldn't comprehend the point at all.
I also despair at the crowd who desire to absorb all knowledge (often via summary), rather than enjoy the journey. The crowd who think a novel like "Consider Phlebas" is better handled by reading,
> A shape-shifting agent allied with the Idirans, is sent on a mission to retrieve a fugitive AI Mind that has gone missing on a forbidden, war-ravaged planet. His journey takes him through a series of perilous encounters—including space battles, cannibal cults, and a doomed mercenary crew—as he races against time and enemies to complete his objective in the midst of a vast interstellar war.
Than reading the novel itself. Content with their summary they move on to devour the next knowledge-goal.
I do kind of get it. I get that it's easier to get along in life having a wide basis of knowledge-hooks with a few niches of real interest. It's easier to feel smart if you feel you have context for conversations, rather than risk appearing "ignorant" by asking the conversation partner to themselves expand and inform you.
I also look at my own impatience. My own diminishing attention span, and my ever decreasing ability to juggle work without distraction and constant consumption of the HN news ticker.
I recently got a new laptop. Firefox informs me I've visited HN 7,765 times. That's not healthy. Many of those is simply opening and immediately closing it, or navigating to and from comments, but it's a very unhealthy habit, born of a desire to constantly consume information without actually putting in what would be hard work and effort of fully reading all the articles.
Including this one. I managed a few paragraphs and skimmed the rest.
This isn't just needing to be better at "effective communication", which I accept is something I'm not great at. What has surprised me instead is the level at which I feel I have to aim has been consistently lowered.
There has always been a risk on the internet of getting dragged into an argument of semantics, but what feels new and fresh, is the risk of getting dragged into an argument with someone who couldn't comprehend the point at all.
I also despair at the crowd who desire to absorb all knowledge (often via summary), rather than enjoy the journey. The crowd who think a novel like "Consider Phlebas" is better handled by reading,
> A shape-shifting agent allied with the Idirans, is sent on a mission to retrieve a fugitive AI Mind that has gone missing on a forbidden, war-ravaged planet. His journey takes him through a series of perilous encounters—including space battles, cannibal cults, and a doomed mercenary crew—as he races against time and enemies to complete his objective in the midst of a vast interstellar war.
Than reading the novel itself. Content with their summary they move on to devour the next knowledge-goal.
I do kind of get it. I get that it's easier to get along in life having a wide basis of knowledge-hooks with a few niches of real interest. It's easier to feel smart if you feel you have context for conversations, rather than risk appearing "ignorant" by asking the conversation partner to themselves expand and inform you.
I also look at my own impatience. My own diminishing attention span, and my ever decreasing ability to juggle work without distraction and constant consumption of the HN news ticker.
I recently got a new laptop. Firefox informs me I've visited HN 7,765 times. That's not healthy. Many of those is simply opening and immediately closing it, or navigating to and from comments, but it's a very unhealthy habit, born of a desire to constantly consume information without actually putting in what would be hard work and effort of fully reading all the articles.
Including this one. I managed a few paragraphs and skimmed the rest.