We're in this weird inbetween time where the digital world bombards us with easily digestible, easily forgettable bits. As a culture we're still trying to figure out the norms and skills that will enable us to seamlessly incorporate these new forms into healthy routines. The ease of commenting/posting, combined with the early 2000s dominance of the notion that everybody's opinions are equally valid, have left us standing in an unending snow of fluff. I think most people underestimate the magnitude of the changes we're going through, and the kinds of mental shifts that will enable people to thrive. I've been a close observer of my 19yr old granddaughter and the ways in which she uses her phone to expand her world. In a recent substack essay I've tried to tease out some of these ideas. Gutenberg in the Whirlwind. https://heyscott.substack.com/p/gutenberg-in-the-whirlwind
I subscribed to Cleveland Review of Books. The very first article I chose to read became something incredibly important to me. Thank you for pointing out the clear distinction between the type of writing I was consuming and the type of writing I scarily almost forgot about and need to do a better job of supporting.
It was hard for me to see value in criticism of any kind for a long time, but this has been a great example. The delight I felt in reading Manov’s criticism had little to do with schadenfreude. One thing good criticism does is remind us that we can be held to account for the things we say, that it matters whether or not we know what we’re talking about, and that sometimes we fool ourselves without really meaning to. And what a joy to be reminded when every day I subject myself to some somebody on Twitter saying something about nothing, or nothing about something, with great certainty. The endless reaction to the alleged decay of our institutions and experts has provided cover for Contrarian Smart Generalists to spew about anything after five seconds of Wikipedia or a single conversation. Fuck it ship it, move fast and break things, accelerate, blah blah blah — these ideas have experienced scope creep. The pace of rigor is relatively slow and understanding takes time. You are right that it is our responsibility to support this sort of work. May we all be good critics, and may we all be subject to good criticism.
We're in this weird inbetween time where the digital world bombards us with easily digestible, easily forgettable bits. As a culture we're still trying to figure out the norms and skills that will enable us to seamlessly incorporate these new forms into healthy routines. The ease of commenting/posting, combined with the early 2000s dominance of the notion that everybody's opinions are equally valid, have left us standing in an unending snow of fluff. I think most people underestimate the magnitude of the changes we're going through, and the kinds of mental shifts that will enable people to thrive. I've been a close observer of my 19yr old granddaughter and the ways in which she uses her phone to expand her world. In a recent substack essay I've tried to tease out some of these ideas. Gutenberg in the Whirlwind. https://heyscott.substack.com/p/gutenberg-in-the-whirlwind
I subscribed to Cleveland Review of Books. The very first article I chose to read became something incredibly important to me. Thank you for pointing out the clear distinction between the type of writing I was consuming and the type of writing I scarily almost forgot about and need to do a better job of supporting.
“The Renata Adler of looking at your phone a lot” is just “Didion for doomscrollers” for people who read NYRB Classics
Ryan Ruby makes a couple of excellent appearances in The American Vandal Podcast (https://marktwainstudies.com/the-american-vandal-podcast/)
It was hard for me to see value in criticism of any kind for a long time, but this has been a great example. The delight I felt in reading Manov’s criticism had little to do with schadenfreude. One thing good criticism does is remind us that we can be held to account for the things we say, that it matters whether or not we know what we’re talking about, and that sometimes we fool ourselves without really meaning to. And what a joy to be reminded when every day I subject myself to some somebody on Twitter saying something about nothing, or nothing about something, with great certainty. The endless reaction to the alleged decay of our institutions and experts has provided cover for Contrarian Smart Generalists to spew about anything after five seconds of Wikipedia or a single conversation. Fuck it ship it, move fast and break things, accelerate, blah blah blah — these ideas have experienced scope creep. The pace of rigor is relatively slow and understanding takes time. You are right that it is our responsibility to support this sort of work. May we all be good critics, and may we all be subject to good criticism.