In this episode, titled, “Longform’s Dilemma,” the focus in on the decline of deep reading in the digital age and considers how the concept of "interestingness," as defined by sociologist Murray Davis, may hold the key to reviving engagement with complex ideas.
Here's a breakdown of what's covered:
The Reading Crisis: A study by the National Endowment for the Arts reveals a significant drop in reading habits among Americans, posing a challenge to long-form storytelling.
The Paradox of Subscription Platforms: While platforms like Substack offer a space for in-depth writing, they also highlight the growing preference for quick consumption over sustained focus.
Murray Davis's Index of the Interesting: Davis argued that ideas are most compelling when they challenge our assumptions and disrupt what we think we know. He proposed two types of “interestingness”:
Single Phenomena: When seemingly unrelated things are revealed to be connected, or vice versa.
Multiple Phenomena: When supposedly inseparable ideas turn out to be incompatible, or when seemingly incompatible things coexist.
Examples of Interestingness in Action:
Light behaving as both a particle and a wave.
The link between genius and madness.
The engineered hyper-palatability yet unmemorable nature of fast food.
Interestingness as a Survival Strategy: In a world saturated with information, the ability to quickly filter and discard becomes crucial. However, Davis suggests that compelling writing can bridge the gap between skimmers and deep thinkers by creating a “paradigm of interest.”
The Power of Surprise: Writers can capture attention by using surprise and cognitive dissonance to make readers question their assumptions, fostering deeper engagement.
Examples of Surprise in Action:
The finding that happiness often precedes success, challenging the belief that success leads to happiness.
The revelation that goldfish have strong memories, debunking the myth of their eight-second attention span.
The Future of Long-form Writing: The episode concludes by posing the question of whether long-form writing can adapt to shrinking attention spans, or if a resurgence of deep reading is on the horizon. It emphasizes the role of both writers and readers in ensuring the survival of thoughtful engagement with complex ideas.
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