Go The Extra Mile & Smile

As much as it might sometimes seem otherwise, I think that people are probably reading more than they ever have. I wonder though whether that's a good thing. More people can read and are inclined to do so than ever, and it's easier to read than ever, but somehow many are still not getting what they ought to out of it. That's an opinion. I may be all wrong about all of this, but at least I'll admit that. You don't get so much out of most people writing today.

When I read things online, I find that I have to work my way to the actual piece people are talking about, layer by layer. The first thing you'll see is some friend's interpretation of the thing, and then you'll see what they're linking to. It's likely enough to be somebody's synthesis of the actual article, or a summary of a synthesis. This will be partly an account of what the article says, but it will be at least as much the opinion of the person doing the synthesizing.

That person probably regards themselves a writer. I'm inclined to see them as something of a professional high school English student. I don't blame them, though. It's easy to do what they do, and it seems as if they get more attention as well. In any case, I skip past their dubious contribution to the process go to the horse's mouth. I tend to find the actual article takes more time to wade through, but it's really very rewarding.

I then turn back and start reading the derivative stuff which led me to the real article. Once I've read that, the earlier stuff can actually begin to be of some worth, although I frequently find that I take exception with their notion of what the article says once I've read what the article says. I'm then grateful that I made the effort, although I'm sad that few probably do so. I may not actually be that much better off though, and perhaps I'm even worse off in a way for the sense of superiority it clearly gives me. Such a feeling is seldom accurate and never helpful. Still, I prefer to be in my shoes.