Derek Thompson

And that violin practice is going to directly increase your odds of getting into a good college much more than reading 100 pages of your favorite novel, right? In a way, reading is a very inefficient means of burnishing a resume. It's also... comparatively an inefficient means of getting that next unit of enjoyment compared to, say, watching television or watching some movie on Netflix.

And that violin practice is going to directly increase your odds of getting into a good college much more than reading 100 pages of your favorite novel, right? In a way, reading is a very inefficient means of burnishing a resume. It's also... comparatively an inefficient means of getting that next unit of enjoyment compared to, say, watching television or watching some movie on Netflix.

So how much do you think this shift away from reading full books has to do with the intense pressures of achievement culture, which are squeezing book reading out of a lot of kids' lives?

So how much do you think this shift away from reading full books has to do with the intense pressures of achievement culture, which are squeezing book reading out of a lot of kids' lives?

So how much do you think this shift away from reading full books has to do with the intense pressures of achievement culture, which are squeezing book reading out of a lot of kids' lives?

So million dollar question. What is this all about? What's really so valuable about reading whole books?

So million dollar question. What is this all about? What's really so valuable about reading whole books?

So million dollar question. What is this all about? What's really so valuable about reading whole books?

I agree with much of that. I think at a personal level, I feel smarter when I'm in a phase of my life where I'm reading books consistently and where the practice of reading is knit into the fabric of my day-to-day habits. And the truth is, when I think about the people I know who I consider very successful and There are very few of them who are like, yeah, I don't read.

I agree with much of that. I think at a personal level, I feel smarter when I'm in a phase of my life where I'm reading books consistently and where the practice of reading is knit into the fabric of my day-to-day habits. And the truth is, when I think about the people I know who I consider very successful and There are very few of them who are like, yeah, I don't read.

I agree with much of that. I think at a personal level, I feel smarter when I'm in a phase of my life where I'm reading books consistently and where the practice of reading is knit into the fabric of my day-to-day habits. And the truth is, when I think about the people I know who I consider very successful and There are very few of them who are like, yeah, I don't read.

I don't have enough concentration to focus on a book or long essay. I'm just incredibly successful, and yet I have no faculty of reading concentration. Those things don't hang together, in my experience. And maybe this is an older millennial thing, and Gen Z and Gen Alpha will develop an entirely different and more multimedia suite of skills

I don't have enough concentration to focus on a book or long essay. I'm just incredibly successful, and yet I have no faculty of reading concentration. Those things don't hang together, in my experience. And maybe this is an older millennial thing, and Gen Z and Gen Alpha will develop an entirely different and more multimedia suite of skills

I don't have enough concentration to focus on a book or long essay. I'm just incredibly successful, and yet I have no faculty of reading concentration. Those things don't hang together, in my experience. And maybe this is an older millennial thing, and Gen Z and Gen Alpha will develop an entirely different and more multimedia suite of skills

the same way that literacy replaced the skills of orality that you described. But I really do have a hard time thinking of people in my life who are successful who don't read as a habit. And one level deeper here, I think that the most important ideas require a concentration and a focus that benefits from hanging with an idea, staying inside of it for more than a minute or two.

the same way that literacy replaced the skills of orality that you described. But I really do have a hard time thinking of people in my life who are successful who don't read as a habit. And one level deeper here, I think that the most important ideas require a concentration and a focus that benefits from hanging with an idea, staying inside of it for more than a minute or two.

the same way that literacy replaced the skills of orality that you described. But I really do have a hard time thinking of people in my life who are successful who don't read as a habit. And one level deeper here, I think that the most important ideas require a concentration and a focus that benefits from hanging with an idea, staying inside of it for more than a minute or two.

And that level of concentration is very different than the kind of attention required to, say, watch a video for an hour, watch TV for an hour. There's a lean back aspect to watching video. But nothing against TV and film. There's something about reading that feels to me like the necessary co-creation of an idea.

And that level of concentration is very different than the kind of attention required to, say, watch a video for an hour, watch TV for an hour. There's a lean back aspect to watching video. But nothing against TV and film. There's something about reading that feels to me like the necessary co-creation of an idea.

And that level of concentration is very different than the kind of attention required to, say, watch a video for an hour, watch TV for an hour. There's a lean back aspect to watching video. But nothing against TV and film. There's something about reading that feels to me like the necessary co-creation of an idea.