I'd argue that there are many videos these days, especially sourced from livestreams, etc., where that barrier to video content getting made that he mentions doesn't exist.
I asked @byrneseyeview to riff on the value of books vs. video. Thought this was a really insightful and original(?) take.
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But the random access/skimming barrier, the pause and read-over to digest barrier, and info-density barriers remain. Some stuff (eg advanced math dense) is practically impossible to pick up via video, a lot of the rest is transmitted more slowly.
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I could see a counter argument being along the lines of media are not interchangeable and some ideas really can’t be captured by text. Or video is not inherently expensive, we just don’t have 500 years of innovation to lower cost of production.
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I don't think anyone would say books are _strictly_ superior to videos. Of course videos can do things that books can't. I just like Byrne's point about the cost of production --> better written material about niche topics.
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Right — like we use the cheap format (books) to try out many different stories, then render only the best ones in the more expensive format (video)? I don't understand why that's a "but" though
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I wonder if that will change with the continued existence of YouTube and such though. Someone talking at a camera can be roughly as information-dense as text. Also, existing text-only content presents an arbitrage opportunity for video creators.
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Also it could be lower cost in terms of time if you're speaking off the cuff instead of spending a lot of time editing/rewriting text.
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I love the point about text being easier to produce leading to what gets produced in the first place. As for text being more information dense than video, maybe it depends on the type of info? To borrow an example from Feynman, try explaining how a crankshaft works with text.
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You can make the argument that everyone has the ability to make quality video content just with the device in their pocket. That said, l largely agree with him, but I think depends on age. >30: create & consume "intellectual" content via text <30: default has shifted to video
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