Read more, to write better.
Write more, to speak better.
Speak more, to think better.
(For the sake of simplicity, I chose "speak" but the actual word that comes to mind is "articulate." Funny story: I thought it was a big word and sometimes confused it with "inoculate," which, oversimplified, means inserting something somewhere, not quite the same as expressing thoughts clearly.)
I'm trying to get back into reading traditionally. Take a good book and read it from cover to cover, with little breaks in between.
The immersion that comes from such an experience is one of the last defences against the constant fragmentation of modern thought.
I think to surrender to an author's narrative or argument for hundreds of pages is to willfully disconnect from the endless cycle of notifications and feeds.
It's an active choice to slow down the internal clock and allow a single, complex idea the time and space it needs to fully settle, germinate, and take root in your understanding, which is a feeling lost to the perpetual skimming of the internet.
There's much structure in that format despite all the excess of words that are very much present in a whole book that tries to explore an idea thoroughly or just develop an argument across hundreds of pages.
These excess of words provide the needed context for understanding nuances, without which we're left with skeletal facts that collapse under the weight of real complexity.
Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power, for instance, a first summary will tell you "Law 1: Never Outshine the Master," and technically, you now "know" the law.
But reading the book gives you the historical story of Nicolas Fouquet, who threw a lavish party that outshone King Louis XIV and was arrested shortly after. It reveals to you the psychology, consequences, and human drama that makes the principle more sticky in your memory.
The summary gives you the rule; the book gives you the wisdom to know when and how to apply it.
Stepping Outside the Fast Paced Matrix
Book summaries trade the experience of discovery for imaginary cons such as "getting the main points faster."
Imaginary because the "main points" without their supporting structure are not unlike eating multivitamins instead of meals.
Sure, technically nutritious, but still missing something essential about the experience of nourishment.
I think it's one of the byproducts of living in a fast-paced era of reality that subconsciously pushes us to maximize every second of our existence lest we fall on the wayside and never catch up or arrive at this elusive promised land.
Interestingly, when out of the modern matrix, reality isn't fast-paced at all. How many realities have we created on top of the actual human experience of breathing, thinking, connecting, and simply being present in a moment that doesn't demand anything from us?
Probably a lot. The modern matrix wouldn't allow us to sit still long enough to notice the difference.
And that's mostly why I'm returning to traditional reading. Need to get back into the rhythm of that first, fundamental step.
Can't expect to write, speak, or think with clarity on a diet of information multivitamins. Time to sit down for the full meal.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.
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